Unbound
by xLonely Soldierx
Summary: Two vastly different worlds collide when a young girl stumbles upon an injured Grimmjow on a cold, rainy evening. What will become of this chance encounter? My first ever Bleach fanfic! Hope you enjoy! CHAPTER 16 UP, FINALLY!
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone! This is my very first Bleach fanfic, entitled __**Unbound**__. I'm really excited about it because, of course, it's the first one I've ever written. But on the other hand, I'm kinda nervous as well, though I'm putting that off as my anxious anticipation to see what you guys think about it. Well, I hope you all enjoy it, and please review. Your reaction will decide the fate of this story. Alright, without further ado, here is the first chapter of my story…_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach, but I do own my created character._

* * *

**Chapter One:**

**Unexpected Arrival**

It was cold…very cold.

This was, at the moment, the only thought zooming through Grimmjow's mind at light speed. Not the heavy downpour of ice cold rain battering his broken body. Not the pain that he knew he should be feeling, but wasn't. Not the fact that he was lying on the ground…somewhere…in the world of the living, his bleary cerulean gaze fixed upon the thick red liquid that mixed in with the rain and painted the pavement in front of him. No…he thought nothing of these things. Just that it was cold. He lay there, shivering violently under the frozen downpour, welcoming the darkness now invading his vision, cradling a new thought that suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Sleep…

* * *

Takuya was extremely thankful for her large umbrella as she walked home from the grocery store. Rain poured relentlessly that evening, and would have surely drenched her to the bone had she come without it. She moved quickly down the sidewalk under dim street lights, anxious to escape the watery onslaught. _Almost there…_she mentally cheered herself on, pushing herself into a slight jog, finally reaching the lot housing her destination. Pausing only for a second to smile at the welcoming lights cast from the windows of Urahara's shop, she began her trek towards the building…and almost immediately tripped over an unexpected obstacle impeding her path, yelping as she fell to the wet ground.

"Ouch…" she whimpered, pulling herself up from the drenched ground and ungracefully dusting the grime from the front of her coat. With nothing short of a frown, she turned to glare at whatever it was that caused her to fall.

What she saw temporarily paralyzed her; a shuddering gasp passed her lips. "…What…is this…?"

A man lay there unmoving on the slightly cratered ground in a tattered white hakama, his bruised body shivering under the sting of the ice cold rain, thick blood slowly leaking from his wounds. Without thinking she reacted, dropping her plastic bag of groceries and her umbrella as she hurried over to the unconscious man. She draped his arm over her shoulder and, with all the strength she could muster, she lifted the man off the ground as much as her small frame would allow. Grunting with effort, she hauled the dead weight across the lot to the shop.

* * *

Urahara, Tessai, and Renji looked up when they here the shop door sliding up and the sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor approaching the living area at the back of the shop.

"What is that?" Renji asked curiously, moving to stand.

"Perhaps Ms. Takuya bought more than she intended at the market today." Tessai suggested.

"That's a possibility." Urahara replied, sipping his tea.

"Yeah…but I'm wondering what exactly it is that she bought if she has to drag it around like that." Renji said as he went to the door separating the living area from the shop on the other side.

Before his hand touched the door it slid open, revealing a drenched, wearied Takuya shouldering a man two times her size. Renji gasped, temporarily frozen in shock as he got a better look at him. "What the hell? A-"

"Renji, you and Tessai take him to the back room and have Hanataro take a look at him." Urahara instructed, abruptly cutting Renji off. "While you do that, I'll make contact with Ichigo and have him and the others come over immediately."

Tessai looked back at the shop owner, slightly concerned. "Sir, this man is a…"

"I'm well aware." Urahara said. "However, I'm afraid now is not the time to consider _what_ he is."

Both men nodded in reluctant understanding. Renji then reached out and relieved Takuya of the added weight, anchoring the man to his side as he and Tessai headed for the back room.

"My grocery bag and umbrella are still outside." Takuya said quietly, drawing Urahara's attention. "I should go and retrieve them."

Urahara nodded, and Takuya disappeared from the doorway. He then turned to the phone sitting behind him, picking it up and quickly dialing a number.

* * *

Ichigo snapped awake at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He glared at the device for a moment before snatching it from his desk and flipping it open.

"Hello?" he answered hoarsely.

"_Ichigo, it's Urahara."_

"What is it?"

"_I need you to gather Rukia and the others and get to my shop as soon as you can. We have a bit of a situation on our hands."_

Ichigo's brow furrowed. "What situation?"

"_I'll explain it to you when you arrive."_

Before Ichigo could protest, the line went dead. Mumbling, he snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket.

"What was that about?" Ichigo's head snapped towards his room door where Rukia now stood.

"Man, is there no such thing as privacy around here?" he muttered.

Rukia bristled slightly. "What was that?"

"Forget it, let's just get going. We've gotta get the others on the way."

* * *

**Alright, Chapter One, done and done! So, what did you think? Did you like it? Hate it? ALL opinions are welcome. Thanks again for reading!**

**P.S. - Also as a side note, though it will become evident as it progresses that my story takes place after the appearance of Ulquiorra and Yammy, it does not follow the original storyline. Just thought I'd throw that little fact in there…**

**xLSx**


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello again, everyone! I'm updating, which means there are readers out there who either like it or are willing to give it a chance. Either way, I'm just happy that someone likes it – it means I'm not too bad at this writing thing after all, lol. Alright, on with Chapter 2!_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach, but one can dream, right?_

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

**A "Hollowed" Guest**

Urahara met Ichigo and the others at the door of the shop, nodding a silent "hello" as he ushered them all inside.

"What's going on Urahara?" Ichigo asked once they were inside the building.

Urahara motioned for them to follow him down the hallway, stopping at the door of the very last room on the left.

"In here." he said.

With only the slightest hesitation, Ichigo went into the room, everyone else following his lead. Almost immediately, shock overtook his expression as he looked down at what was lying motionless on the bed at the center of the room. The man had tan skin, light blue hair, and teal markings under both his eyes. The white hakama he wore was badly torn and a myriad of cuts and bruises decorated his body, along with a couple deep lacerations stretching across his chest and stomach area. It was none of these things, however, that caused a sudden pang of fear to shoot through Ichigo's being. It was the gaping hole near the center of his abdomen – an unmistaken trademark of a hollow. _A hollow…that looks human…just like the two that came here before…_

"What the hell…?" Ichigo finally spoke.

"Takuya found him at the edge of the lot about half an hour ago." Urahara explained. "How long he's been there, I cannot say. To tell the truth, no one would have known he was there had Takuya not found him. His spiritual pressure was almost completely suppressed."

"And still is as far as I can tell…either that or it's gotten so weak you can barely sense it." Renji added, folding his arms. "Strange…what the hell is an Arrancar doing here anyway?"

"I'm afraid this one's more than just a regular Arrancar." Urahara said. "Judging by his appearance, I'd say he's one of those Espada, like the ones we saw the other day."

"Yeah…only this one's pretty beat up." Chad interjected.

Urahara looked to Hanataro, who was busy bandaging the Espada's torso. "How bad is he?"

Hanataro paused to look up at the shop owner. "It's pretty bad." he replied. "He has a fever, which is probably due to being caught out in that rain. And, in addition to all the external injuries, he seems to have suffered some internal injury as well. It would seem that he encountered a very powerful reiatsu, and the force of it almost crushed him from the inside out."

Ichigo grimaced, blinking away the mental image popping up in his mind before he spoke again. "So how did this happen? None of us fought him…hell, none of us even knew he was here."

"Whatever happened, it must've happened in Hueco Mundo." Hanataro said. "There's still traces of reiatsu on him…the most dominant being Aizen, and the others belonging to Tosen and Gin. So his fight must've been with them."

"Will he be alright?"

Takuya's voice drew everyone's attention to the girl, who had been sitting in silence next to Hanataro as he worked on the Espada's wounds, a blanket draped over her shoulders. Hanataro cleared his throat before answering.

"Yes, it does appear that he'll be ok. Fortunately enough, he must have escaped before the internal damage became incredibly severe, but it will still take some time to recover from." he replied.

Takuya released a small sigh of relief. "Good." she said quietly.

At that, Urahara stood up. "We'll leave you to your work, Hanataro. Everyone, if you would come with me please?"

Renji and Tessai joined Ichigo and the others as they followed Urahara out of the room. Takuya reluctantly stood up from her place beside Hanataro, casting one last glance at the unconscious Espada before following the others out of the room. Everyone settled silently around the table in the dining area, each with hundreds of thoughts buzzing in their heads.

"So what do we do now?" Ichigo spoke up, shattering the short-lived silence.

"Well, all we really can do now is wait for our guest to regain consciousness. As it stands now, all we know is that he was obviously attacked by Aizen and now he's here in the world of the living." Urahara replied.

"Why should we wait until he regains consciousness?" Rukia interjected. "Wounded or not, he's still an Espada…a vasto lorde…the strongest class of menos. We need to report this to-"

"No." Urahara said sternly, abruptly cutting Rukia off.

Rukia looked at the man, a frown settling on her face. "Why shouldn't we?"

"Soul Society doesn't need to be involved in this…at least not yet." Urahara replied. "They tend to overreact in situations like this."

"Urahara's right." Ichigo said. "If we involve them now, we won't be able to get any information from the guy."

Rukia stared at Ichigo and Urahara in shock and disbelief before finally turning to Renji, her eyes pleading with him to agree with her. The red-head let out a small sigh.

"Surprisingly enough, I agree with Urahara and Ichigo." he said, much to Rukia's chagrin. "Knowing Head Captain Yamamoto, once word of this reaches him, he won't think to try and obtain any information. All he'll do is send in the punishment force for an immediate execution."

Rukia opened her mouth to protest, only managing a "but…" before Urahara began to speak again. "Alright then, when our hollowed guest wakes up, we will proceed with our investigation. Remain on stand-by until then."

Everyone – except for Rukia – nodded in understanding. At that moment, Takuya stood up.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Urahara, I'd like to go back to the room with Hanataro." she said quietly.

Urahara nodded. "Yes, that's fine. Perhaps you can assist him in keeping watch over his patient."

Takuya nodded. "Yes, I can do that." she said before turning and disappearing down the hallway.

"Well, we might as well just stay here for the time being." Ichigo said, sighing as he slid away from the table and sat against the wall. "No sense in going all the way back home right now, especially when we don't even know when this guy's gonna come to."

"I don't understand why you are so willing to wait for an _Espada_ to wake up." Rukia said snippily. "Do you honestly believe he's just gonna want to talk to you when he wakes up and finds himself surrounded by shinigami?"

"Not if we have attitudes like yours." Ichigo said sardonically.

"And just why _shouldn't_ I have an attitude like this?" Rukia snapped. "There's a vasto lorde being _healed _in a room just twenty feet away from us and you want me to be calm? Are your crazy?"

"I agree with Rukia." Uryuu spoke up as he pushed his glasses up the brim of his nose. "We could be in way over our heads here. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to inform the Soul Society on this matter…"

"Come now, you two, try to be a bit more reasonable about this." Urahara said. "Do you even realize the opportunity that has been presented to us here? An elite soldier out of Aizen's own army has somehow landed on our doorstep, injured and more or less unable to properly defend himself. This is the perfect opportunity to gain information on Aizen and any plans he may have involving Soul Society, the world of the living, or both. Of course none of us are thrilled to have him here, which is natural. But, you don't just get chances like this every day. This course of events could very well turn the tides of the inevitable showdown against him in our favor."

Rukia sighed in defeat, folding her arms as she averted her glare to the nearest wall. _Ugh, idiots…they have to know that this is not going to end well…_

* * *

The back room was silent, aside from the soft rustling of cloth bandages and clinking of ointment bottles caused by Hanataro. Once all his medical equipment had been safely moved out of the way, he pulled blankets over the Espada, bringing them up to just below his chin. He then sat back and sighed, running a hand across his brow.

"That should do for now. Of course his bandages will need to be changed eventually." he said.

Takuya nodded, her gaze fixed on the man lying in front of them. He was still trembling, though it wasn't nearly as bad as when she'd first brought him in.

"He'll be alright now?" she asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"He will." Hanataro replied. "The time it takes for the wounds to completely heal will be all up to his body's own recovery speed, but as of right now he just needs rest."

Takuya nodded again, her gaze shifting to the boy as he yawned broadly whilst collecting his materials and placing them back into his bag. "You can take a break if you want. I'll look after him for now."

Hanataro looked over at Takuya as he put the last of his supplies in his bag. "Oh…well…you're sure you'll be alright with that?"

The girl smiled. "Yes, of course. I'll be fine."

"Ok then, thank you." Hanataro said as he got up. "I'll be back to check on him soon."

At that he left the room, and silence took over once again. Takuya's gaze returned to the Espada. His trembling had calmed even more in the minute that the blankets had covered his body, and a calm expression had replaced the pained one that had been etched into his facial features. A small smile found its way to her lips at the sight, though the slight nagging in her heart reminded her who…or rather what…this man was. She immediately blocked out the memories that began to replay in her mind and the small twinge of fear that it stirred up. She moved until her back rested against the wall beside the bed and pulled her knees to her chest, allowing her gaze to fall upon him once more. And then, without thought, she spoke three simple words that seemed to quell the fear in her own heart, even though she was speaking them on his behalf…

"You're safe now."

* * *

**Alright, another chapter has come to a close. How was it? Feel free to let me know what you think…**

**xLSx**


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello again, everyone! I'm back with Chapter 3 of __**Unbound**__. Many thanks to all of you who are reading my story, and many more thanks to those of you who are reading AND reviewing. Trust me it is very encouraging. Well, enough of my rambling (lol), on with the story!_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach…Tite Kubo does._

* * *

**Chapter Three:**

**Awkward First Impressions**

The first things Grimmjow noticed as his eyes slowly started to slide open were the silence surrounding him and the warmth of his body. It confused him momentarily; when he had lost consciousness he was surrounded by the loud, persistent noise of an ice cold rain that had chilled him to his very bones. Where was that noise now? Where was _he_ now? He allowed his eyes to open a little more. The ceiling light hung directly over him, paining his azure eyes but illuminating the room enough for him to properly view his surroundings. He was lying on a bed, covered up to his chin in blankets. The room he was in was an off-white color, and the floors were smooth and wooden; his _Pantera_ rested in a corner on the far left side of the room, next to what appeared to be a closet. He sighed inwardly, a small feeling of relief settling over him.

_I'm not back in Hueco Mundo. Heh, those bastards didn't try to come after me…at least not yet…_

With a heavy sigh, he allowed his eyes to close once more, the silence of the room allowing him to ponder the mystery of his new location.

"Oh…you're awake."

Grimmjow's eyes snapped open again, and he immediately sat up, momentarily forgetting about his injuries as he searched for the owner of the voice. A second or two later, someone appeared at his left side, a girl more specifically. He squinted slightly trying to see through the haze still lingering in his vision.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to startle you." the girl spoke in a timid voice. "But…you should lie back down. If you move around too soon, your wounds might reopen."

Grimmjow stared at the girl, momentarily ignoring her suggestion. "Who the hell are you?" he asked groggily.

"My name is Takuya Hokkaido." the girl answered.

Grimmjow stared a second longer before giving in to his protesting body and lying back down. Takuya pulled the blankets back over him as he did so, during which time he got a better look at her. Her skin was smooth and tanned, and her eyes were a vividly clear gray. Long ebony locks framed her face and cascaded over her shoulders, reaching midway down her back, and her hands were small and slender, working steadily to adjust the blankets just right. She sat back when she finished and looked back at him, a small smile settling on her lips. He held her gaze for about five seconds, and then averted his own gaze to the ceiling.

"Where am I?" he asked after a slight pause.

Takuya opened her mouth to answer but stopped at the sound of the room door sliding open; Urahara peeked in, his fan in front of his face.

"Ah, excellent, our guest has awakened." he said, stepping just inside the door; he then looked over at Takuya. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes sir." Takuya answered with a nod.

"Very good." Urahara said. He then stepped back out into the hallway. "I'll be back in just a sec."

* * *

Ichigo looked up when Urahara reappeared in the hallway entrance.

"Our guest has awakened." Urahara said, motioning for the group to follow him down the hallway.

"I don't agree with this." Rukia remarked as everyone rose to follow Urahara to the back room once again. "We shouldn't be wasting our time interrogating that _creature_."

"Well then maybe you should wait outside in the hallway while _we_ handle this." Ichigo said dryly, earning a cold glare from Rukia.

The group filed silently into the room, eyes trained on the now conscious Espada, whose own attention was blearily fixed upon the bandages Hanataro was currently redressing his wounds with. Once everyone was seated, Urahara spoke up.

"You have quite the recovery time there. Are you feeling any pain at all?"

A slight grunt was the only audible response, as much of the Espada's attention was still focused on the wrapping of his wounds.

"May I ask what your name is?"

It was at that moment that the Espada turned his gaze toward Urahara, his cerulean eyes seemingly evaluating the inquisitive man, along with everyone else who had entered the room with him. After a minute or so, he finally answered.

"Grimmjow Jaegarjaques." His voice was now devoid of its earlier grogginess.

"Mr. Jaegarjaques, my name is Kisuke Urahara, and as for your earlier question, you are in my shop."

Urahara said. "Takuya here found you at the edge of my lot about four, maybe five hours ago."

Grimmjow looked back at Takuya. The girl's smile broadened just a little when she met his gaze.

"So what happened to you?" Ichigo's voice drew everyone's attention, including Grimmjow's. "How'd you get all beat up like that?"

Grimmjow's expression darkened slightly. "Tch, since when did shinigami become concerned with the wellbeing of hollows?" he scoffed.

"Since one just so happened to show up in the world of the living…in _my_ town…already beat up when no one here had even come in contact with him until now." Ichigo shot back.

An audible growl rumbled in the Espada's chest. He'd prepared to insult the orange-haired boy but stopped short of the sharp words spilling out of his mouth. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy, his feral glare turning into a more pensive one.

"Who the hell are you, boy?"

A look of confusion flashed over Ichigo's features; after a second or two, he responded. "Ichigo Kurosaki."

Grimmjow fell silent at that moment, and his expression became devoid of any readable expression, effectively disguising the war of emotions raging behind the glint in his blue eyes. He turned his glare away from Ichigo and stared straight ahead, a fistful of blankets in each hand.

"Shit…" he muttered, his brow furrowing as frustration began to seep into his expression.

"What's that?" Ichigo said, leaning forward in his sitting position.

Grimmjow look over at Ichigo once again. "You're that shinigami bastard that fought against Yammy and Ulquiorra, right?"

Ichigo tensed at the question. "That's right. What of it?"

"My original intention for coming to the world of the living was to find you and kill you, since that emo clown and that giant dumbass couldn't seem to get the job done." Grimmjow said plainly.

Ichigo froze, attempting to process what he'd just been told. All the while, something akin to fear began to descend upon him, and the sudden urge to draw his zanpakutou and immediately cut the Espada down took root in his mind. He hurriedly jumped to his feet and prepared to change into a shinigami.

"But…" Grimmjow's unflinching voice stopped him in his tracks, "I wasn't able to act upon my intentions, because they somehow reached Aizen's ears. This was not made apparent to me until that bastard and his two lap dogs attacked me. I barely managed to get out with my life."

Ichigo's stance relaxed a little, though he did not resume his seated position.

"So, what now?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. "What are your "intentions" now?"

Grimmjow's fist tightened until his knuckles turned white, and the seemingly permanent scowl on his face deepened.

"I am…indebted…to this girl." He spoke as if the words were burning his throat. "You don't have anything to worry about for the time being…shinigami."

"Excellent to hear." Urahara suddenly chimed in. "I know exactly what you can do to make it up to her."

He then stood up and moved to sit next to Takuya, who by now was giving the man an apprehensive look.

"Our dear Takuya is going to be starting school in two days." he explained, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "However, due to some fairly recent events, I'd prefer it if she didn't have to make that long commute back and forth from school on her own. That being said, I think you'd be the perfect bodyguard for her…"

"Now hold on just a minute!" Rukia's sudden outburst startled everyone – except Grimmjow – in the room. She stood up and marched over to Urahara. "What the hell are you thinking coming up with a fool idea like that? You would really entrust the life of this girl to a hollow? Have you completely lost your sane mind? The only thing that this _creature_ should be assigned to is a cell in the deepest, darkest part of the Seireitei prison while he waits for his execution!"

Not three seconds after the venomous words spewed from her mouth, Rukia found herself pinned to the wall by a large hand that was currently wrapped around her throat. It took her a few more seconds to realize that the wind had been knocked out of her and who the hand belonged to. The Espada's azure eyes had gone from blearily calm to wildly psychotic within that short period of time.

"Listen here you little midget bitch, I don't know if you're really brave or just really stupid, but maybe I need to remind you just what you're putting yourself up against." Grimmjow hissed, his hand slowly tightening around her throat. "If you think that just because I'm injured you can talk any way you want around me, you're sadly mistaken. In fact, I would think that someone with spirit energy as weak and insignificant as yours wouldn't even be able to drum up the audacity to fucking look me in my face…"

"Let her go right now." Ichigo's warning voice drew the Espada's attention to the boy; he and the red-headed man had changed into shinigami and now stood preparing to draw their weapons.

Grimmjow looked at the boy for a second longer before finally releasing Rukia, letting her fall to the floor in a sputtering heap. He then stepped back and sat back down on the bed, immediately wrapping an arm around his midsection; a hint of pain became visible in his irritated expression. Silence overtook the room once again, but it only lasted a minute or so before Urahara spoke up again.

"So, would you be willing to take on this task?" he asked, opening his fan in front of his face once again. "It shouldn't be too hard a job for you; in fact, it won't be hard for you at all, you being an Espada and all…"

"Fine."

Urahara, and everyone else in the room, were surprised by the immediate response. At that, a smile began to work its way onto the shopkeeper's face.

"So, you're agreeing to take up the task, correct?"

Grimmjow didn't respond. He gritted his teeth, clutching his torso even tighter. The pain of his wounds was resurfacing with a vengeance in response to the sudden movement of his body. His heart thundered in his ears, falling into rhythm with the throbbing of his aching body. He shut his eyes, biting back the groan threatening to escape his throat.

Urahara watched the Espada with mild curiosity. "Grimmjow…is that a…"

"Yes, fine, whatever, just get the hell out so I can sleep." the Espada snapped venomously.

"Hey, just who the hell do you think you're talking to like that?" Ichigo yelled.

"Now, now, it's alright. It's pretty obvious that he's in a bit of pain." Urahara said. "Rest is key right now. We don't want him dragging when he has to guard Takuya, do we?"

He then turned to everyone else in the room. "Let's leave Mr. Jaegarjaques to get some rest, shall we?"

At that everyone slowly rose to their feet and filtered out of the room. Takuya, however, remained, watching intently as the Espada struggled to situate himself properly in the bed before deciding to lend a hand. He refused her help, however, swatting her hands away as he finally managed to get himself under the blankets. Takuya watched him a few seconds more before standing to her feet.

"One of us will be back to check on you soon." she stated before heading to the door.

"Hey…" Grimmjow's voice stopped her before she set foot out of the room. He didn't wait for her to turn around before continuing. "Answer me this. What the hell happened to you that would lead that idiot to want to make a hollow your damn bodyguard? Tch, the shinigami bastards aren't good enough for the job?"

Takuya's body noticeably tensed up at the question, her grip on the room door tightening. "I…," her voice was just above a murmur, "…I'd…rather not talk about it…right now…"

She then quickly left the room, turning the light off and swiftly sliding the door closed behind her. Grimmjow stared at the door for a few minutes. Under any other circumstances, he would have stormed out behind the girl and demanded that she answer his question or die. But as it stood, he could barely move his throbbing body, that and he was literally "trapped" in a shop full of shinigami and other anti-hollow warriors just waiting for him to slip up and make even the smallest mistake. He growled in disgust at his new situation, shifting his glare to the now dark ceiling.

"Shit…"

* * *

**How'd ya like that? I made this chapter longer than the first two, but I hope it didn't seem dragged out. Feel free to share your thoughts…**

**xLSx**


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi all! I'm back again with Chapter 4 of my story. Shout outs to all of you who have read, reviewed, and even added my story to your favorites. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Lol, enough of my antics, on with the story!_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach…_

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

**Risky Business**

The group settled down quietly in the dining area once again, a whole new set of thoughts surfacing in their minds. After a few moments of yet another silent spell, Ichigo spoke up.

"Urahara…I've got a question for you."

The shopkeeper looked over at the orange-haired boy. "Yeah, and what would that be?"

"Well I was wondering…why didn't you just let Orihime come and heal Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked. "I mean, I'm not saying that Hanataro isn't skilled or anything but…"

"I understand exactly what you're saying, and that is a valid question." Urahara replied. "My reasoning is quite simple really. While I wasn't going to leave our guest as banged up as he was, I wasn't going to have him completely healed either. Orihime's healing abilities…they reverse all damage done to a person, to the point that you would never know he or she was injured in the first place. Hanataro's abilities on the other hand, require the person's own body to do some of the work. Despite his position, Grimmjow is still an Espada; even having him healed as much as he was is a highly risky move."

Ichigo nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Instead of discussing the odds and ends of hollow healthcare, shouldn't we actually be taking a moment to examine the severity of our current situation?" Uryuu interjected, drawing Ichigo's and Urahara's attention, as well as that of everyone else in the room. "We're not just harboring some random hollow here. It's an Espada, a soldier in Aizen's own army, a vasto lorde-classed menos. We're setting ourselves up to face potentially severe consequences from both the Soul Society AND Hueco Mundo. And that's not to exclude any potential problems we may have with the Espada himself, who has already demonstrated that he is still perfectly capable of defending himself despite being only "partially healed" as you put it. It seems to me that we are getting in way over our heads here."

Urahara's expression turned thoughtful. "I have taken all of that into consideration. It's an almost inescapable truth that once Soul Society finds out about this; Head Captain's wrath isn't only going to extend to Grimmjow, but to the rest of us as well. And there's almost absolutely no doubt that Aizen will be coming to retrieve his missing soldier at some point. However, in the grand scheme of things, I'd say we couldn't have made a better decision than the one we're making now. Like I said earlier, this occurrence has presented us with a grand opportunity – gathering pertinent information on Aizen's movements thus far, and any future plans he may have. For that purpose, I'm willing to face any risk if it means we can thwart Aizen in any kind of way."

Uryuu sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Well…I don't think I can argue with that logic."

Murmurs of agreement hovered in the air. Rukia, who was still recovering from the initial shock of her close encounter with said Espada, rolled her eyes.

"You people have no respect for self-preservation." she grumbled. "This is an insane – and might I add, AVOIDABLE – risk that you're taking, that will require the luck of gods to endure, the likes of which could get us all killed without a moment's notice, and the only thing you can think to do is jump in head first…"

"We can endure."

Once again, Takuya's quiet voice drew everyone's attention to her. She was sitting against the wall almost directly behind Urahara, listening intently to everything that had been said. Rukia looked confusedly at the girl.

"I believe…that we can endure whatever that is sure to come as a result of Mr. Urahara's decision." Takuya said; her attention then went to Rukia. "But everyone must be in accordance…if we are not all in accordance, then we have already doomed ourselves to failure before we've even gotten a chance to try."

Rukia gasped, taken aback by the girl's words; she opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, finding that she had no response to counter with.

"Well, I think that about settles it." Urahara stated, moving to stand up. "And on that note, I suppose I should go and prepare a gigai. As for you guys, you should probably head home and get some rest. Tomorrow's gonna be the start of what's sure to be endlessly long days for all of us. Try to be back here by noon at the latest."

At that, everyone stood up, stretching and yawning as they did so. After muttering they're goodnights, Ichigo, Uryuu Orihime, Chad, and Rukia filed out of the shop and took off towards their respective homes, all wearily anticipating what new dilemmas tomorrow would bring them.

* * *

Takuya stood before the door to the back room, taking a moment to gather her nerves before she entered. She'd once again volunteered to go and check on the Espada, to make sure his wounds hadn't started bleeding again and that his bandages would last until morning. Finally able to gather what little courage she had, she slowly slid the door open and stepped into the room. Moonlight poured in through the small window above the bed – a sign that the rain clouds had finally broken up, she noted – partially illuminating the room with a pale glow. Sliding the door closed behind her, she stood there for a second or so to let her eyes adjust to the still predominant darkness before moving to sit by the bed. She looked down at the Espada momentarily. His eyes were closed, and he made no indication that he'd heard her enter the room; his chest rose and fell in steady, even breathing, convincing her even more that he was actually asleep. At that she brought her hands up to his blankets and, as gently as she could, began pulling them back, revealing his almost completely bandaged torso. She then began checking him over, running her fingers lightly over certain areas of the bandaging where she knew the more serious wounds were; however, not even five seconds after she started, the Espada began to stir, and she immediately drew her hands back.

Feeling the sudden change in temperature somewhere in the haze of his sleep, Grimmjow stirred slightly. In that brief moment, he immediately felt the presence of someone else in the room, and cracked his bleary cerulean eyes open to see just who it was. It didn't take him long to identify Takuya, even in his state of grogginess; the girl's crystalline gray eyes gleamed in the pale rays of moonlight shining into the room. A slight scowl furrowed his brow.

"The hell're you doing, girl?"

Takuya struggled to slow her pounding heart, bringing her hands back down into her lap. "I was checking your bandages…to make sure that your wounds hadn't started bleeding again." she replied timidly. "I apologize for having disturbed you."

Grimmjow looked at the ebony-haired girl for a second longer before grunting and once again directing his gaze to the ceiling. Takuya, registering this as his "permission" to proceed with her task, brought her hands back to his bandages, her fingers once again lightly skimming over the areas that covered his more serious wounds. Immediately upon feeling the touch of her hands, Grimmjow shifted his gaze back to the girl's face. A focused expression had replaced the apprehensive one that was there only a second ago as she concentrated on her task. Slowly, his half-lidded eyes began to slide closed.

_What is this…? Her touch feels…weird… Weird and…almost relaxing... Relaxing?_

Grimmjow immediately forced the foreign thoughts out of his mind, mentally cursing whatever black hole they originated from. He then redirected his attention to Takuya, his eyes now almost completely open. His scowl deepened as he suddenly became even more determined to completely banish the disturbing feeling.

"I'm not gonna break into pieces if you touch me." he muttered. "I'm a fucking warrior; it'll take a lot more than your prodding little hands to make me even flinch."

Takuya, slightly caught off guard by the comment, slowly withdrew her hands once again. "I'll try to remember that next time." she said quietly.

She then pulled the blankets back over his body and got to her feet. "Goodnight, Grimmjow." she said with a slight bow before turning to leave the room.

Grimmjow's eyes followed her until she disappeared behind the closed door, almost as if to make sure that she actually left. Then, with a deep, irritated sigh, he allowed his sore body to relax again. _Tch, relax…damn god-awful human feeling…_ At that final thought, his blue eyes final slid closed once more.

"Damn girl…" he mumbled before slipping into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Tension hung in the still air of the oversized throne room, despite the deceivably calm demeanors of the three men who now inhabited it. Aizen sat in his typically relaxed position on the stark white throne, his chin resting in his palm as his gazed stretched aimlessly to nothing in particular. Gin and Tosen stood on either side of him, the latter waiting on him to break the uncomfortable silence with a command or some sort of instruction on how they were to handle their current situation.

"My, my…we've landed ourselves in a rather unfortunate situation, haven't we?" Gin spoke up, finally dispelling the awkward hush of the throne room. "Even after all we did to stop him from going to the living world, little Grimmy-kun managed to make it there anyway… Doesn't this little stunt greatly interrupt your plans for capturing that little auburn-haired girl?"

"Hmmm, I suppose it will alter them slightly, yes." Aizen replied coolly. "However, this slight change in events has in no way interrupted my intentions."

"What then are your orders, my lord?" Tosen asked. "How shall we proceed with Grimmjow's capture?"

Aizen paused for a moment in thought before speaking again. "We will take no action for the time being."

Tosen, almost visibly shocked by Aizen's decision, stepped forward slightly. "With all due respect, Lord Aizen, I feel that this situation calls for us to act immediately. If we leave Grimmjow unattended, things could rapidly go beyond our control…"

"I am well aware of the situation, Tosen." Aizen stated. "I'm also quite sure that Grimmjow is more or less expecting us to come after him at some point. He, however, does not know when this will occur, which gives us some measure of an advantage. And, if the timing of our pre-ordained retrieval is made flawless, we may also be able to capture the human girl as well, and would thus have killed two birds with one stone."

The ex-shinigami turned slightly so that he could see his stolen captain out of his peripheral view. "Do you understand now why I'm choosing not to act immediately, Tosen?"

Tosen bowed. "Yes, my lord, I understand."

Aizen's everlasting smile broadened slightly. "Excellent." he said; he then turned his attention to Gin. "Have you already pinpointed Grimmjow's location in the world of the living?"

"Sadly no, I haven't; Grimmy-kun's spiritual pressure is a bit too low to find at the present, but I'm sure that'll be changing eventually." Gin replied. "No doubt our little ryoka friend has haphazardly discovered him since his impromptu arrival in the living world; he'll surely be healed to some extent, which will in turn raise his spiritual pressure enough for me to find him."

"Hmmm, very well." Aizen said. "Then I suppose now, all that's left to be done is waiting for the most opportune moment…"

* * *

**This chapter so far had to be the hardest one to write. Why? I have no idea… So, what do ya think? Feel free to share your thoughts…**

**xLSx**


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi, all, back again! Remember how I said that the last chapter was the hardest to right? Well, as of now, that title goes to this chapter. It was even harder, if that's possible. But after a tough battle with writer's block, I made it (cheers! XD) Thanks again to all the readers and reviewers. Chapter Five comin' your way in three, two, one…_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach…_

* * *

**Chapter Five:**

**Strange Dreams, Bleak Reality**

_Takuya had no idea how long she'd been walking, or where exactly it was that she was going. She didn't know where she was, or how she had gotten there. She just knew that there was someone…or something…out there, out amongst the snow-laced trees, calling out to her, summoning her._

"_Takuya…"_

_There it was again, the whispering voice that had drawn her out into the winter cold, away from the warmth and protection of her home, with the strangest compelling force she had ever known. It was as if her body was moving on its own accord, ignoring all of her mind's reasoning and her heart's better judgment; even in her current, wearied state, she pressed on without a moment's rest. Her curiosity had been piqued…there was no turning back now._

_The sight of a break in the sea of trees caused her to move a little faster, anxious to reach the significantly brighter clearing._

"_Takuya…"_

_The voice was louder now, and she hoped against hope that she was nearing the end of this aimless journey. She finally came to a stop when she reached the break in the trees and glanced around the vast clearing. A sea of undisturbed powdery snow laid before her, surrounded on all sides by trees, the darkness of their bark a stark contrast to the whiteness of the snow that decorated their barren branches. Snowflakes fell lightly from the sky, dancing on a gentle whisper of a breeze as they made their way to the earth. A gasp of absolute awe escaped the ebony-haired girl as she beheld the surreal sight. It was like gazing upon a winter wonderland. After a few more seconds of taking in the absolute beauty of the clearing, she began to move forward once again. However, after only taking exactly five steps, she was stopped in her tracks by yet another sight. _

_Two white tigers came into view near the center of the clearing, making their way toward her. A shuddering gasp escaped her then, as awe turned to slight fear. She then went to move back into the cover of the trees, only to find that her body had once again lost connection with her mind's will._

"_Takuya…"_

_The voice rang through the vastness of the clearing, no longer a hushed whisper but a clear, distinct female voice. Her eyes darted across the open space, searching for anyone or anything that she could possibly label as the source of the voice._

"_Where…? Where are you?" she spoke into the air, her voice not loud enough to carry as the other had been._

_At that moment, something soft brushed under her palms, drawing her attention to her hands. Her heart skipped at least three beats when she discovered the tigers had already closed the distance between them; her fear quickly evaporated into nothing, however, when she heard what could distinctively be recognized as purring. A tiger sat on either side of her now, nuzzling her hand with their large heads, their warm breath tickling her fingers. The smallest of smiles formed on her lips then._

"_Could it be…that you were the ones calling out to me?" she asked, running her fingers through their snow white fur. "If so, then what is it that you want? Why did you bring me to this place?"_

_The padding of feet in the snow drew Takuya's attention away from the tigers once again. Directly in front of her now was yet another white tiger, only this one was much larger than the two now sitting on either side of her, and had the most stunning sapphire-colored eyes she had ever seen. Her gray eye's widened at the sight, a sudden realization washing over her at that moment._

"_It…was you…"_

_The tiger bowed its head, almost as if to nod. "Yes…I am the one who brought you to this place."_

_The sudden response had almost shocked Takuya to speechlessness. After a second or so, she found her voice again._

"_Why…" she asked shakily._

"_They are yours." the tiger spoke again, looking at the two tigers on either side of her. "These tigers, they belong to you. They were, are, and always have been…your trusted companions through this endless cycle of time."_

"…_Who…or what…are you?"_

"_I, Takuya Hokkaido…am you." the tiger answered, almost in declaration. "I am the essence of your true nature, the embodiment of your true power."_

_Takuya stared wide-eyed at the tiger sitting before her. "I…I don't understand…"_

"_You will in time, young one." the tiger said as it rose to its feet. "It is time for us to part ways; when the time is right, we will meet again, Takuya."_

_At that moment, a bright flash filled the entirety of the clearing, encompassing everything in a blinding beam of light…_

Takuya's eyes snapped open, and she shot upright in her bed. Her heart raced in her chest, and she was breathing as if she'd just run two miles without pause. She immediately began to calm down, however, after quickly glancing around herself, finding that she was still in her room. _It was just a dream…even so, it seemed so real…_

She pondered on it for only a minute or so before pushing it to the back of her mind; deciding that she wasn't going to get back to sleep, she got up to get ready for the day. _There will be plenty time to ponder on my strange dreams later._ she thought to herself. _As for right now, I need to go and prepare breakfast. Everyone will be waking up soon…_

* * *

Grimmjow's eyes slowly blinked open that morning. Warm rays of sunlight filtered in through the room's one window, greeting him as he waited for the rest of his body to wake up. Shifting slightly, he groaned at the stiffness of his body, cursing as he struggled to sit up. Amidst his struggling, the room door slid open, revealing Hanataro, Urahara, and Tessai.

"Top of the morning to ya, it's good to see you're finally awake." Urahara said, his voice overly cheery as the three men entered the room.

Hanataro immediately sat down and began to work on the Espada's bandages, while Urahara and Tessai moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed. Grimmjow watched the two men as they situated themselves, scowl already in place. With a slight growl, he shifted his gaze straight ahead, glaring at nothing in particular.

"So, are you feeling any better? I certainly hope you rested well." Urahara said, opening his fan, this time to actually fan himself.

"What do you want?" Grimmjow muttered.

The sudden question caught the shopkeeper slightly off guard. "Pardon me?"

"I know you didn't come in here _just_ to see how I was doing. I'm not so stupid as to assume shit like that." Grimmjow said flatly; he looked back at Urahara. "What do you want?"

Urahara smiled slightly, closing his fan. "You're quite the shrewd one, Mr. Jaegarjaques." he replied, adjusting his hat. "Don't get me wrong, I am genuinely concerned about your wellbeing. But there is one question in particular that I would like to ask you…and I need an honest answer."

At that moment, he looked up, his gaze immediately locking with an intense blue glare.

"Grimmjow Jaegarjaques…how loyal are you to Aizen?"

* * *

Ichigo rubbed his semi-tired eyes as he and the others made their way to Urahara's shop. He looked down at his watch. _9:33 a.m._ He muttered incoherently under his breath, shoving his hands into his pockets as he trudged forward

"Wow, Ichigo, you're sure looking fresh and rejuvenated this morning." Uryuu commented sarcastically.

"Shut up." Ichigo grumbled. "It's Saturday from crying out loud…who the hell gets up this early on the weekends anyway?"

"Come now, Ichigo, it's always good to get an early start on things." Rukia commented, the slightest bit of spite in her voice. "After all, _you_ are part of the reason we have to make this visit in the first place."

"It's _9:30_ in the morning. We weren't supposed to be there until _noon_!" Ichigo snapped. "Remind me, will ya…who's idea was it to "get there ahead of time?" _You_ must be more excited about this than the rest of us are!"

"That's enough, Ichigo. It's too early for all that, and besides that fact, I believe Urahara's words were 'noon, _at the latest_.'" Uryuu said. "Let's just get there and do what we have to do."

A few minutes later, the group came into view of Urahara's shop. Ururu and Ginta, who were out in front of the shop sweeping, looked up when they heard the group approaching.

"Tch, it's about time you people showed up." Ginta scoffed, walking up to Ichigo. "What the heck took you so long anyway?"

Ururu looked at Ginta, and then at Ichigo. "That's just his way of saying that he's glad you're here. He's kinda scared to be in the shop with Mr. Grimmjow."

Ginta, blushing of embarrassment at the comment, rushed over to Ururu and hit her in the back of the head, eliciting a yelp from the girl. "Idiot, I am NOT scared of that guy! I just came out here to help you with your chores!"

"Oh how noble of you." Renji's sarcastic remark drew everyone's attention to the red-haired man appearing at the shop door. "So, do you plan to do that _every_ day, or just the days that the Espada is here in the shop with us?"

"Hey, you shut up ya moocher!" Ginta yelled, his face now beet red.

Effectively ignoring the boy, Renji looked toward Ichigo and the others. "You guys come on inside." he said, ushering the group into the building.

Urahara looked up from his breakfast as Renji walked into the dining area, followed by Ichigo and the others.

"Ah, welcome back." he greeted. "I hope you're all hungry. Takuya has prepared enough breakfast for everyone."

"How's that? You guys knew we would be over here this early?" Ichigo asked.

"Well…no. But it never hurts to be prepared, right?" Urahara quipped, chuckling lightly.

Ichigo merely rolled his eyes as he and everyone else sat around the table. At that moment, Takuya came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of food.

"Good morning everyone." she said as she set the tray of food on the table. "Here's breakfast for you."

A collective "thanks" echoed from the group. "I'll be right back with your drinks." Takuya said as she moved to go back into the kitchen.

"Oh, Takuya, before you do that…I have something for you" Orihime spoke up, standing from her place at the table and walking over to the ebony-haired girl.

From her pocket, she produced a small, rectangular black box. "It's a gift; you can wear it when you start school." Orihime said cheerfully, handing the box to Takuya.

A genuine smile lit Takuya's face as she took the box and opened it. A sharp gasp escaped her, however, when she saw what was inside. A necklace and two shiny hair pins glimmered against the black velvety fabric of the box, each with silver-toned pendants shaped like…

"…little tigers with little sapphire-colored eyes." she barely managed to hear Orihime say. "I saw them and I instantly thought about you, so I bought them as a good fortune charm for you since your first day of school is Monday. Aren't they the cutest?"

Takuya gaze never lifted from the jewelry in her hand; she opened her mouth to respond, but her voice was lost with the absolute shock and unexpected irony. Memories of her dream swirled around in her mind, playing and replaying over and over again.

_The tiger from my dream had sapphire eyes. And now…I'm seeing them again. Tigers with sapphire eyes… Was that really just a dream…?_

"Takuya, are you ok?"

Orihime's voice snapped Takuya out of her trance, and she immediately looked up to meet the girl's gaze. A slightly worried expression had settled on Orihime's features.

"Oh…forgive me…it's just that no one's ever given me anything like this before." Takuya said, allowing a smile to creep back onto her lips. "These are really very beautiful. Thank you so much, Orihime."

The worried expression quickly evaporated from Orihime's features, giving way to a bright smile. "You're very welcome." she chimed, turning to returning to return to her place at the table.

Once the drinks were served, everyone began eating breakfast. After a few minutes, Ichigo looked up from his plate and glanced around the room.

"So, where is he?" he finally asked when he failed to find the Espada in the room.

"Grimmjow is still in the back room." Urahara replied. "Speaking of said Espada, I have something incredibly interesting to share with you all."

Everyone looked on expectantly as the shopkeeper stood to his feet. "This morning, I had what I guess would pass as a "reasonable conversation" with Grimmjow…"

_**- FLASHBACK -**_

"_Grimmjow Jaegarjaques…how loyal are you to Aizen?"_

_The Espada's expression visibly darkened at the mention of the ex-captain's name, something that didn't go unnoticed by the shopkeeper._

"_Fuck Aizen."_

_The bluntness of the statement stunned Urahara and Tessai; even Hanataro momentarily halted his task to look at the Espada in surprise._

"_That arrogant shinigami son of a bitch is not my fucking leader. Tch, the very thought of having to bow down before my natural enemy makes me sick to my stomach. I'd no sooner kill myself before having to follow any of his stupid orders."_

_Urahara remained silent for a moment, absorbing what he'd just been told. "Interesting…very interesting." he finally said. "So you would be all for attacking and killing him at the earliest presented opportunity?"_

"_Absolutely." Grimmjow answered, a sadistic grin sneaking back into his expression. "I'll admit that I'm not strong enough yet, but soon, I will be. And when that day comes, the only thing that that infernal bastard will be able to hear is his god-forsaken blood gushing out of every orifice in his body, and me laughing over his pathetic corpse."_

_Urahara couldn't help but smile at this. "Excellent."_

_**- END FLASHBACK -**_

"Wow…that's a shockingly refreshing change of pace." Ichigo said. "So there's already discord within Aizen's own ranks…"

"It's not too surprising." Uryuu said. "He is a shinigami attempting to reign over a bunch of hollows after all. It was only a matter of time."

"Well, surprising or no, any misery brought upon that bastard brings a smile to my face." Ichigo said. "I'll take it any way I can get it."

"You two are giving him way too much credit." Rukia interjected. "Have you even considered the fact that he could have been ordered by Aizen to say all that, that this could all be some big, elaborate ruse to draw us in and get us to drop our guard? He could be playing us all and none of you would even know it until it's too late to do anything."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Rukia. "Since when did you become the world's largest buzz kill?"

"Since the moment I became the only one with a functioning brain." Rukia shot back, earning her a leveling look from everyone.

"Aside from all that, has anyone noticed that his spiritual pressure still hasn't risen back to normal since the day we've found him?" Renji asked. "He's certainly healed enough for it to have gone back to almost completely normal, but it doesn't seem to even be fluctuating…"

"That's because he's suppressing it"

Everyone looked to the hallway entrance where Hanataro now stood. At his side was none other than Grimmjow, who stood leaning against the door post for support more than anything else.

"I'm glad you two could finally join us." Urahara said. "Please come and have a seat."

Once the two were seated – Hanataro sat near Tessai, and Grimmjow sat on the wall furthest away from everyone – Urahara began to speak again.

"By now I'm certain that everyone here is up-to-date on our current situation. A hollow of significantly destructive power has landed here in the world of the living…one that we have circumstantially decided to harbor here. Because of this decision, we can safely assume that life from this point on is gonna be a lot more difficult for all of us. A lot of precautions must be taken, one in particular being – Renji – the suppression of Grimmjow's spiritual pressure for the sole purpose of avoiding detection. Call it "hiding in plain sight" if you will. Also, we absolutely cannot relax our guard, even in our calmest moments. While Soul Society's actions are more or less predictable, Hueco Mundo's actions are not. We have to assume that, even though they cannot detect Grimmjow's presence, Aizen will more than likely send his forces here to look for him at any given time. We must always be prepared for anything."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"There's something else you should know about." Grimmjow suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "In a meeting he held right after Ulquiorra and Yammy returned from their pointless little battle with you, Aizen disclosed his interest in the unusual powers of the girl that was there that day…and how much he thought it would aid him in reaching his goal. In other words, I ain't the only one who needs to watch my back."

Producing a look of shock, Urahara immediately shifted his gaze to the rapidly paling auburn-haired girl.

"Orihime…"

* * *

**Alright, that wraps up Chapter Five! This is the longest chapter of this story so far. So, how was it? Not too draggy I hope… Feel free to share your thoughts.**

**xLSx**


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi everyone, I'm finally back! I apologize for the extended absence. The past few days have been majorly busy, and I barely had any chances to sit down. And besides that, when I was finally able to sit down, I suffered with a major case of writer's block. This chapter tops all the others in difficulty, but I managed to get through it. So here it is finally, Chapter 6! I hope you enjoy it!_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach…_

* * *

**Chapter Six:**

**The Mystery of Takuya**

Restless tension hung heavily in the atmosphere of the room as everyone tried to absorb the sudden, disturbing bit of information.

"You're saying that Aizen may be after Orihime? Are you certain of this?" Urahara asked after a few moments.

Grimmjow's scowl deepened. "What reason do I have to lie?"

"You have every reason to lie!" Rukia snapped suddenly. "How do we know that _you're_ not the one Aizen sent to capture her in the first place?"

The Espada cast a bored glance at the ranting shinigami. "As stupidly bold as ever." he mused. "Do you ever use that useless chunk of dead weight you dare refer to as a fucking brain? If I were the one sent here to complete such a boring task, I would have done it long before now. Aside from that fact, I'm pretty damn sure that arrogant bastard wouldn't have sent someone he himself was trying to kill to do his dirty work."

"Hmmm…valid point…" Uryuu reluctantly agreed. "That and he just doesn't seem like the type that Aizen would send in for a mission like that."

Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow. "So then who would he send to complete that sort of mission?"

"His emo clown lapdog, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow replied. "He sends that son of a bitch to do everything."

"…That guy…" Ichigo muttered, remembering his confrontation with the green-eyed Espada.

"While that is a good thing to keep in mind, our main focus should be what we're going to do to prevent it from even occurring." Urahara stated. "Orihime, I'd like you to stay here with me for the time being. I'll have Takuya and Renji go with you to your home to pack anything you may need."

Orihime nodded an "ok," her own mind still trying to process the details of her sudden possible endangerment. A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. She turned to see Takuya looking back at her, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Don't worry, Orihime." she spoke reassuringly. "Your friends are here for you, and I'm sure everything possible will be done to make sure that you are kept safe."

"That's right. You don't have to worry about a thing, Orihime. We've got your back." Ichigo said.

The smile slowly returned to Orihime's face. "Yeah. Thanks, guys." she said.

"You three should probably head out now for the sake of handling things early." Urahara suggested. "And Renji, it'd be best if you changed into a shinigami just in case."

"Right." Renji said as he stood to his feet. "Ok you two, let's get going."

The two girls stood up as Renji changed into his shinigami form, and then proceeded to exit the shop. Urahara watched until they were out of the shop before turning back to the rest of the group.

"Well, I suppose we won't go into anything further until they've returned." he said, opening his fan. "Until then, how about we have some tea?"

* * *

The walk to Orihime's apartment was quiet and uneventful, much to Renji's own relief. Once inside, Orihime immediately began packing up clothing and other such necessities into a large suitcase with Takuya's help, while Renji stood outside the apartment and kept watch. Within fifteen minutes they completed the packing. Orihime took a few seconds to check and make sure she had everything she needed before the two headed out the door.

"Okay, we're ready." Orihime said, locking her apartment door behind her.

"Alright then; let's head back." Renji said, taking the suitcase from Orihime as they began their trek back to Urahara's shop.

Only a minute or so after the trio began their short journey, Renji suddenly came to a stop, causing the two girls behind him to bump into him slightly. Orihime looked up at the red-haired man.

"Renji? What's wrong?" she asked nervously.

"A hollow…" Renji breathed, his hand immediately going to his zanpakutou. As if on cue, a loud howl erupted from somewhere mere feet in front of them. "…And from the sound of it, it's pretty big."

Takuya's eyes widened in fear and she suddenly felt as if she couldn't move; memories that had been successfully locked away in the back recesses of her mind were suddenly flooding back to the surface. Her steady breaths turned into shuddering gasps, drawing the attention of both Orihime and Renji.

"Takuya?" Orihime said, turning to the girl. "Takuya, it's gonna be –"

She was abruptly cut off when the hollow stormed into view. As Renji had guessed, the creature was huge, standing about as tall as a three-story building. Its legs were short while its arms stretched down to the ground, and its mask was oblong in shape; a hollow hole decorated the center of its reddish body. A raucous laugh echoed from the creature when it spotted the three.

"_**Hah, I thought I smelled an extra tasty snack around here. Seems my senses weren't fooling me after all.**_" it roared.

"The only thing you'll taste is my _Zabimaru_ as it hacks you into pieces, you bastard!" Renji yelled, immediately charging. "Roar, _Zabimaru_!"

His zanpakutou instantly extended into a long, jagged whip, hurtling viciously toward the beast. Just as the first segment reached it, the hollow vanished seemingly into thin air. It did not escape Renji's senses, however, as he immediately charged in the direction it landed a second later. It growled in newfound frustration, pausing only for a second to glance at the slice wound on its shoulder before charging not towards Renji, but towards Takuya and Orihime, howling as it did so. Orihime quickly stepped in front of Takuya and activated her _Santen Kesshun_.

"Stay away from them!" Renji yelled.

"_**I must have it! Such deliciously rare and unusual spirit energy, it must be mine! No one will stop me from having what I have sought out for so long! You can hide from me no longer, girl! Surrender yourself now and become one with my flesh!"**_

The hollow was mere inches away from Orihime's glowing shield when _Zabimaru_ wrapped itself around the creature and dug its spikes into its body. Then, with a powerful tug, Renji retracted his zanpakutou, and with a screeching cry, the hollow was destroyed, evaporating into nothing. With a collective sigh, Renji sheathed his weapon and Orihime dismissed her _Santen Kesshun_. Immediately, the auburn-haired girl turned to console Takuya, who was trembling like a dry leaf in the wind. Seconds later, Renji rejoined the two girls.

"Are you two ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're just fine." Orihime said with a slight nod. "Takuya's just a little shaken up is all."

Renji turned his attention to the ebony-haired girl. She stood there with her eyes closed taking deep breaths, an attempt to calm herself, he assumed. After about a minute, her trembling had completely stopped and she reopened her eyes.

"Are you ok, Takuya?" Renji asked.

"Yes, I think I am now." Takuya answered looking up to meet Renji's gaze. "Thanks for saving us."

She then turned to Orihime. "Thanks to you as well. Maybe one day I'll be able to return the favor."

"No, no, you don't have to worry about anything like that. I'm glad to have been able to help." Orihime said, grinning goofily.

"Well, let's not waste anymore time." Renji said, picking the suitcase back up. "We need to hurry and get back to Urahara's before anything else decides to show up."

"Right." Orihime and Takuya said in unison.

With that, the trio resumed their trek back to Urahara's shop, this time electing to run the rest of the way. As they ran, Renji momentarily glanced over at Takuya. His brows furrowed slightly as he looked away, only partially giving away his concerned curiosity.

_She says she's ok, but in her eyes I saw unmistakable fear and helplessness...and then there's that weird spirit energy… I wouldn't have even noticed if that hollow hadn't mentioned it. There's definitely more than meets the eye with this girl…_

* * *

Grimmjow felt it before it even reached the shop, the incredibly bizarre spirit energy that had snapped him out of his tired trance. His eyes shifted over to the group around the table.

_Tch, seems Kurosaki and his friends haven't noticed a thing…but Urahara and that other guy seem to be all too aware…_

His permanent scowl deepened as he determined the source of the energy – Takuya. Nothing about the ebony-haired girl seemed out of the ordinary to him. From all appearances, she was nothing more than a lowly human…or at least she was until now. Confusion buried him deeper into his thoughts.

_This energy…it's nothing like that of a hollow, nor is it that of a quincy, and it only vaguely resembles that of a shinigami… Just what the hell is this girl?_

The sound of the door sliding open drew him back into reality, he and everyone else looking up as Renji, Orihime, and Takuya walked into the dining area. He immediately trained his gaze on the ebony-haired girl. The unusual energy still lingered in the air around her, but was slowly disappearing and becoming untraceable.

"Welcome back." Urahara said casually. "I'm glad to see that you've all returned safely, despite that hollow you encountered."

"Yeah, thanks." Renji said.

"Orihime, why don't you and Takuya go ahead and get your things situated in the room you'll be staying in." the shopkeeper suggested. "It's down the hall, the second door on the right, next door to Takuya's room."

"Oh, yeah, good idea." Orihime said. She then retrieved the suitcase from Renji and shuffled down the hall, followed by Takuya.

Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Urahara turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"There is something we need to discuss, as this sudden hollow attack has made it unavoidable." he said. "It is the issue of Takuya."

"Takuya? What is something wrong with her?" Ichigo asked.

"No, that's not it at all." Urahara replied. "I'm about to give you the particulars on how we met her. It's actually quite interesting."

Ichigo gave the shopkeeper a suspicious look. "Ok…?"

Urahara cleared his throat before he began. "We met Takuya exactly three weeks ago this day, ironically enough, when we rescued her from a hollow attack that destroyed her home."

Silent shock descended upon the group as they tried to register what they'd just been told. After a minute or so, Tessai began to speak.

"On that day, a group of four large hollows were making an adamant attempt to reach the girl, who was trapped beneath some of the debris of what remained of her home. They were so fixated upon reaching her, in fact, that they did not notice our arrival, allowing us to make quick work of them and free the girl from her entrapment. She has been staying with us ever since then."

"Hollows destroyed her home? How terrible…" Renji said. "It's no wonder she'd gotten so afraid when we were attacked today."

Ichigo looked at Renji, and then at Urahara. "What's your point in telling us this?" he asked a hint of anger in his tone. "What the hell's so interesting about hollows destroying someone's home?"

"Now, now, calm down Ichigo. We haven't told you the interesting part yet." Urahara said.

Ichigo waited impatiently for the shopkeeper to continue, a frown settling on his features.

"The interesting detail in all this is not simply Takuya's miraculous survival of this ordeal, but the manor in which she was able to survive." Urahara explained. "Spirit energy unlike anything we've ever felt radiated from the spot beneath the debris where she was trapped, and it had covered the debris on top of her in a faint blue light…almost like a shield. This energy was generated by Takuya herself, though we soon discovered that she is completely unaware of it."

"…Wow." Chad said.

"Wow indeed." Uryuu said. "A shield strong enough to thwart the simultaneous attacks of four large hollows… This must be some serious power."

"Why didn't you tell us about this before now?" Ichigo asked. "Why keep something like this a secret?"

"Shortly after we rescued her the energy faded into nothing, and did not resurface again…until today." Tessai replied.

"Today?"

"That's right." Urahara said. "However, the only ones of us to sense it were Tessai, myself, and Grimmjow. We also assume Renji sensed it as well, due to that hollow attack."

Renji nodded in confirmation.

"We've yet to determine the nature of this unusual energy of hers, nor do we know its strength." Urahara said. "I suppose that will remain to be seen, should it ever resurface again."

"So even with all this, you would still entrust her safety to a hollow?" Rukia said suddenly. "Why don't you just let one of us protect her instead? It's our job after all as shinigami…"

Urahara sighed. "You have a different set of problems to concern yourself with now. Takuya isn't in any immediate danger, but we can't say the same for Orihime. Protecting her is your top priority now. Takuya is well taken care of."

Rukia frowned. "But…"

"Shut it, Rukia." Ichigo muttered flatly, abruptly cutting the girl off. "He's right. Quit trying to refute everything for once."

Rukia shot a death glare at the orange-haired boy, but did not speak again. Silence once again overtook the atmosphere of the room, leaving everyone to ponder about the long and difficult journey they had ahead of them.

* * *

Nightfall had descended upon Karakura, covering the town in a cloudless, midnight blue blanket that was speckled with millions of tiny points of twinkling light, and a nearly full moon at the center of it all. Takuya sat in silence on her bed, her knees hugged to her chest. She could not see the moon from the small window above her bed, but the glittering beauty of the stars was enough to mesmerize her and draw her mind away from the day's events. A small sigh escaped her. She couldn't get to sleep…or perhaps the more accurate explanation was she didn't want to go to sleep for fear of the nightmares that would surely assail her as soon as she closed her eyes. They had been seemingly endless the first time she endured a hollow attack; for an entire week she was tormented by horrifying nightmares of being chased and almost eaten by hollows that resulted in sleepless nights. That is, until the final night she'd been swept into a nightmare, when a mysterious, unnamed hero appeared out of nowhere, saved her from the hollows, and then, without the slightest utterance, vanished. The nightmares ceased after that, but it left her wondering about the mysterious dream world savior. _All I saw was a black silhouette…never an actual face or anything. Hmmm…maybe it was a shinigami or something…_

"Hey…girl…"

The sudden sound of the male voice at her room door startled her greatly; after a second or so, however, she recognized who the voice belonged to. She slowly stood up from her bed and silently padded to her room door. Sliding it open slightly, she stuck her head out and immediately saw him leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the door.

"…Grimmjow?"

"I know now what happened to you; you were attacked by hollows in the past." the blue-haired Espada said. "The reason why that crazy ass shopkeeper would still task me with guarding your life despite knowing this, however, is unknown."

He then turned to look at her, the intensity of his cerulean gaze not allowing her to look away. "Know this…while I will always loathe the shinigami through and through, and despise the human race for their naivety and ridiculous feelings…you are the only one among them who can say you needn't fear me. I am indebted to you…and I intend to return the favor."

Takuya gasped inwardly and her gray eyes widened as her brain began registering what was just said to her. Grimmjow looked at her for a few seconds longer before pushing himself out of his leaning position and turned so that his back faced her now.

"And that is something that you shouldn't take lightly."

Those finally words hung in the air as she watched him go back down the hallway and into his room. Her eyes still wide with mild shock, she pulled herself back into her own room and slid the door closed. The Espada's words had finally begun to sink in as she walked back to her bed; moments later, the fear in her heart receded, and a small smile found its way to her lips at the sudden reacquiring of her desire to sleep. She then proceeded to climb under her blankets and close her eyes.

"I don't have to be afraid." she murmured into the air. "Everything will be alright."

And with that she fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Well guys, there ya have it, the closing of another chapter. So, what did you think? Was it worth the unexpected wait? Was the battle ok? I always have trouble with those… Feel free to share…ALL opinions are welcome.**

**xLSx**


	7. Chapter 7

_Hi, all, I'm back again, finally! I apologize once again for the extended wait, but to make up for it, I made this chapter a little longer than the rest :D, and I certainly hope you all enjoy it. Many thanks again to all of you who are reading and reviewing my story. Alright, on with Chapter 7!_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach..._

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

**The High School Experience**

Monday rolled around a lot quicker than expected, or at least it did in Takuya's opinion. Today was the day that she would begin attending Karakura High School, and she was nervous. A million thoughts buzzed through her mind at light speed as she stood at her dresser mirror brushing her ebony locks. What would the students be like? What would the instructors be like? What would the entire school in general be like? With a slight sigh, she placed her brush back down on the dresser and opened a small drawer on the top left hand side. There sat the small rectangular black box that Orihime had given her. She slowly withdrew the box from the drawer and removed its top. The silver jewelry gleamed in the faint morning light that filtered through her window, and the sapphire eyes of the tigers seemed to twinkle up at her as she gently ran a finger over each pendant. After pushing her hair back behind her ears, she then carefully removed the hair pins and slid them into her hair just above her ears. She then freed the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck. A small smile graced her lips as she examined herself with the addition of her new accessories.

"These really are beautiful…" she said quietly.

A slight knock at her room door drew her attention away from the mirror. "Come in."

The door slid open and Orihime entered the room. Her face lit up in a bright smile when she saw the necklace and hair pins.

"Yay, you're wearing them!" she exclaimed. "They look really pretty on you, and best of all, now we both have hair pins. See?"

Takuya's smile grew as the auburn-haired girl pointed to the hair pins on either side of her head. "Thanks again, Orihime." she said.

"You're welcome, again." Orihime replied, giggling slightly. "So, are you ready for your first day?"

Takuya's smile faltered slightly. "I'm…actually kind of nervous." she admitted. "This is all fairly new to me."

"It's natural to be nervous at first when you're starting at a new school. It happens to us all." Orihime said. "But don't worry; it'll pass before you know it. Karakura High is probably just like the school you used to attend before now."

It was at that moment that something in Takuya's mind clicked…or didn't click. She turned slightly and sat on the edge of her dresser, her brow furrowed in thought.

Actually…I don't remember ever attending school she said quietly.

Orihime looked confusedly at the ebony-haired girl. "…You don't remember?" she asked after a moments pause.

Takuya slowly shook her head. Orihime's confusion slowly changed to concern.

"Well…what do you remember?" she asked.

Takuya's brow furrowed a little more as she closed her eyes and brought her hands to her temples. "I remember moving here from…somewhere…several months ago. And I lived by myself for a long while…"

"Where did you live before you came here?"

"...I dont know." Takuya said the hint of sadness in her voice reflecting on her face as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't seem to remember much of anything about my life before coming here to Karakura. I'm not sure why…but I can't."

For a long moment the two girls just stood there in the silence of the room until Orihime spoke up again.

"Well, let's not think on that too much. It might give us a headache." she said, trying to sound as lighthearted as she could. "It's your first day at a new school. We should make sure that you're completely ready to go."

Much to her relief, the smile slowly returned to Takuya's face as she pushed herself off of the dresser.

"Ok then." she said as she walked over to her new school bag that sat in a corner of her room. "We could look over my class schedule."

"Yeah, that would be great." Orihime said, walking over to Takuya as she set the bag on her bed. "Maybe well have some classes together."

* * *

An irritable expression decorated Grimmjow's features as his glare shifted from the two men now standing in front of his bed to his new gigai, and then back again. He was barely able to suppress the low growl rumbling in his chest at the sight of the goofy smile on the shopkeepers face.

"Well, what do you think? Do you like it?" Urahara asked.

"It's fucking weird." was Grimmjow's only answer as his attention was drawn back to the gigai sitting against the wall by the door.

"Huh? Weird?" Urahara asked a hint of laughter in his voice. "What would make you say that?"

"Well what the hell were you expecting me to fucking think, when the first thing I see when I wake up is another…another "me" sitting at the damn door?" Grimmjow snapped venomously. "I almost lost control of my spiritual pressure and this shop almost got ceroed to fucking oblivion!"

"Now, now, I apologize." Urahara said, snapping his fan shut. "I suppose I should properly introduce you to your gigai now. However, I should ask you first…have you ever used a gigai before?"

"I'm a hollow." Grimmjow said flatly. "That shit is for shinigami. What the hell would I use one of those for, and why should I start using one now?"

"Well, guarding Takuya requires you to be with her all day, and for part of the day, she will be in school."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the man. "…Who the hell said I was gonna be _inside_ the school with her?"

"It'll be a good experience for you, trust me on that." Urahara said a hint of laughter in his voice yet again. "I've already had both of you registered."

Grimmjow glared murderously at the shopkeeper, this time not bothering to suppress the growl rumbling in his chest. Without missing a beat, Tessai reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue orb and held it up for the Espada to see.

"And what the hell would that be?" Grimmjow asked.

"This is a _gikongan_, more commonly known as a 'soul candy', designed especially for you." Urahara explained. "This is what you will use to exit your gigai. It's a pre-programmed artificial soul that, when ingested, separates you from your gigai, and animates it until you remove it from the gigai. And to remove it, you will need this…"

Tessai once again reached into his pocket and pulled out a black glove with a skull symbol on it, also holding it up to be seen.

"This is a _Gokon Tekkö_, a glove that can force the soul candy out of the gigai whenever you're ready to inhabit it again."

Grimmjow looked at the two men as if they'd each grown another head. "You people are fucking insane." he muttered.

"Well, we don't have too much time to spare so…how about trying it out?" Urahara suggested, reacquiring his goofy smile as he motioned to the gigai. "All you do is hold it up to your body and you will automatically merge with it."

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Grimmjow stood up from his bed and walked up to the gigai, grumbling all the while. He lifted it up to his body and merged with it almost instantly. With a slight frown, Grimmjow looked himself over, scrutinizing his "new" appearance. The only obvious changes were the disappearance of the jawbone mask that had been on the right side of his face, and the "filling in" of his hollow hole at his abdomen. Aside from that he looked the same, save for the exchange of his white hakama for a button-down white shirt, a gray pair of pants, and dark brown shoes.

"What the hell am I wearing?"

"That would be the school uniform." Tessai answered. "All students are required to wear it."

"Here." Urahara said, handing the Espada a small box. "That has the glove and the soul candy in it. Keep it with you. You never know when you may need it."

Grimmjow took the box from the man and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Oh yeah…one more thing…" Urahara said as he and Tessai were exiting the room. "Since you're going to be among normal human beings at this school, you're gonna have to do a little conforming…"

"Tch, no shit…" he muttered sarcastically as he followed the two men out of the room.

He really wanted to destroy something now.

* * *

The walk to Karakura High School was filled with the excitement of Orihime's bubbly voice. She had become even more thrilled upon learning that Grimmjow was going to be attending school as well, much to the blue-haired Espada's own surprise. He walked a couple steps behind the girls, a bored scowl set in his facial features.

"It's absolutely awesome that we all get to be in the same class." Orhime chimed. "Ochi-sensei can be somewhat outrageous sometimes but she is really nice. Kagine-sensei is kinda strict but deep on the inside he's a big softy. Oh, and I'll have to introduce you to Tatsuki – she's my best friend…"

"Hey! Over here!" Ichigo's voice drew the three's attention to the orange-haired boy, who was standing at the school yard entrance with the rest of the group.

"Good morning everyone!" Orihime said, jogging over to the group.

Takuya paused momentarily to look up at the building. Students were moving around everywhere, while some were gathered in various places talking amongst one another. The nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach grew slightly, and she clutched the strap of her school bag a little tighter.

"What's wrong with you?" Grimmjow asked, suddenly making her aware that he had stopped along side her.

"Oh…I'm just a little nervous is all." she replied. "This is a new experience for me. I've never…I've never actually been to a school before."

Grimmjow looked at the girl, confusion replacing the boredom in his expression. "The hell do you mean you've never been to a school before? All humans go to school."

Takuya shook her head. "I've never gone…or at least, I don't remember ever going." she murmured.

The Espada's confusion grew then, and he opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off when Ichigo suddenly called out again.

"Takuya, Grimmjow, let's get going or we're gonna be late."

"Ok, coming." Takuya said; she took a deep breath before moving to catch up to Ichigo and the others.

Grimmjow followed behind her, confusion steadily growing in his mind. _What the hell is with this girl?_

"Welcome to Karakura High." Ichigo said, drawing the Espada out of his thoughts. "Not too much to say about it, except that it's a school. And you learn here."

Takuya giggled at this; Grimmjow just rolled his eyes, and proceeded to mentally curse the shopkeeper for making him come here. Ichigo noticed the Espada's expression and willed himself not to laugh.

"Wow, Grimmjow, you sure look ready for the day." he said, some of the contained laughter escaping into his voice.

Grimmjow leveled the orange-haired boy with a bored glare. "Of course, shinigami." he replied sarcastically. "Can't you tell? I can barely contain my excitement."

"Tch, for your sake you had better." Rukia said snidely.

"You're never without anything totally smart-assed to say, are you…midget bitch?" Grimmjow shot back.

At that, Rukia whirled around, halting the group's trek towards the building. "What was that?" she shrieked.

Grimmjow merely laughed at the female shinigami's reaction. Ichigo shot glares at both of them. "This isn't the time for that! Let's just hurry and get to class." he said, pushing Rukia forward as everyone started walking again. "And Rukia, will you stop trying to provoke him?"

"Oh so you're defending _him_ now?" Rukia snapped.

"I'm just saying that you've been the one picking all the fights lately. You could probably do without always trying to say stuff to get him riled up…especially around all these people."

Clearly offended, Rukia yanked herself out of Ichigo's grasp and stormed ahead of the group, grumbling all the way to the building. Ichigo shook his head at this, he and the others reaching the building a few seconds later.

"Wow, you must have really set Rukia off this time." Renji's voice drew everyone's attention to him as he fell in step with the group as they entered the building.

"Yeah well, she'll get over it." Ichigo said. "So what the hell are you doing here?"

"Urahara's orders." Renji replied. "He said I could better help in keeping an eye on Orihime this way."

"Did he now? You sure he wasn't just trying to get you out of the shop?" Ichigo teased.

"Lay off." Renji said. "It was actually a good idea, despite the nature of his true intentions, given your less than average ability to sense spiritual pressures."

"Tch…shut the hell up." Ichigo muttered. "Like I'd need your help…"

"Here we are." Orihime sang as they group stopped in front of their designated classroom.

Before they could set foot in the door, their teacher stepped out. Misato Ochi's eyes sifted through the small crowd and immediately picked out Takuya and Grimmjow. A smile lit up her face as she moved to stand directly in front of them.

"The two of you must be my new students." she spoke cheerfully. "I'm Misato Ochi, and I will be your teacher. Now, if you would wait right here for just a second, I'll go in and get the other students seated and then have you come in and introduce yourselves, ok?"

With that she immediately turned and hurried the rest of the group into the class. Takuya and Grimmjow stood silently in the hallway. Takuya's palms began to sweat, the butterflies in her stomach multiplying, and next to her, Grimmjow seethed, the thought of having to spend a moment anywhere near the human-infested building causing the blood to boil in his veins.

"Grimmjow…remain calm." Takuya said quietly, grabbing the Espada's attention; she didn't look up to meet his eyes, however, and rather gently rested one of her small hands on his muscular arm. "It's ok. This is going to be a new experience for the both of us...new, and challenging. But we can get through it if we try hard enough…and if we're patient enough…"

The blue-haired Espada looked at the girl momentarily. Even as she spoke, her hand was trembling against his skin because of her own nervousness. Grunting slightly, he stared straight ahead once again.

"Whatever." he mumbled.

"You guys can step inside now." Ochi-sensei called from inside the classroom.

Taking a deep breath, Takuya turned to walk into the classroom with Grimmjow right behind her. "Here we go…" she whispered.

The two walked in the room and stood in front of the class. Countless little gasps escaped students all across the room, and quieted comments began to surface in the air.

"Class, these are our two new students." Ochi-sensei stated as she looked over at the two. "Go ahead and give them your names."

"I'm Takuya Hokkaido." Takuya said with a slight bow.

"Grimmjow Jaegarjaques." Grimmjow stated.

"Wonderful." Ochi-sensei said. "Ok…there are two seats over there by the window…right behind Mr. Kurosaki. You may take those."

Not wasting any time, Takuya and Grimmjow moved to take their seats. As they did so, the little quiet comments became clearer, not escaping either of their ears.

"_Her eyes are gorgeous. And so is her hair"_

"_He's really dreamy. I wonder if he's single..."_

"_She's a total hottie. I call dibs on her number."_

"_Blue is my new favorite color." (Insert girly giggle here)_

Takuya took the seat directly behind Ichigo, and Grimmjow sat behind her. Ichigo turned to face them as the situated themselves.

"You did a good job." he whispered; he then peered over Takuya's shoulder at Grimmjow. "Both of you…surprisingly…"

Grimmjow's bored glare lingered on the boy for a second before shifting to look out the window. "Don't push your luck, Kurosaki." he grumbled.

Ichigo smirked, shaking his head as he turned to face forward in his seat again.

"Alright, let's begin class, shall we?" Ochi-sensei said, flipping open a book on her desk. "We'll start with the reading assignment you had over the weekend…"

* * *

Takuya breathed an inaudible sigh of relief as she and the others sat around on the roof of the school building eating their lunch. She leaned against the bars of the tall steel barrier that enclosed the entire rooftop, gazing down at the other students as they moved here and there across the courtyard as she nibbled on a sandwich. The first half of her school day had gone on without a hitch, which served to dispel the greater part of her nervousness she'd previously had at the start of the day. A small smile curved her lips, a feeling of slight accomplishment washing over her.

_This isn't so bad after all._ she thought. _I think I can get used to this school-going thing…_

"Takuya," the ebony-haired girl turned toward Orihime's voice, "I'd like to introduce you to my best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa."

The short-haired girl that had been standing right next to Orihime stepped forward and extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you." she said with a smile.

Takuya smiled in return, reaching out and shaking Tatsuki's extended hand. "It's nice to meet you, too." she said.

"ICHIGO!" Everyone looked around to see the owner of the voice barging through the roof entrance and making a beeline straight for said orange-haired boy.

"Keigo…" Ichigo almost growled out the name as his hyperactive friend skidded to a stop in front of him.

"Ichigo, where is she? People told me they saw her walking with you guys, WHERE IS SHE?" Keigo said almost shrieking, grabbing Ichigo by the collar of his shirt.

"Get the hell off me!" Ichigo yelled, shoving the boy away from him. "And who the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh c'mon, Ichigo, you know exactly who I'm talking about. I mean the new girl from…"

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Keigo immediately bit off his sentence as he and Ichigo looked up to see Mizuiro standing in front of Takuya, taking one of her hands into his. "My name is Mizuiro Kojima. It's an honor to finally meet such a lovely girl in person."

Orihime giggled, while Tatsuki just shook her head. Takuya blinked at the boy. "Oh…well, nice to meet you as well." she managed, not sure of what else to say.

No sooner had the words left her lips, had another boy appeared in front of her. Keigo cheesed goofily at her, causing her to shrink back just slightly.

"Wow, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" he chirped. "Those eyes, that hair, everything so perfectly proportioned! Oh it's even better close up – "

Two fists met both sides of Keigo's face, abruptly cutting the boy off and startling Takuya slightly.

"CAN IT, YA PERVERT!" Ichigo and Tatsuki yelled in unison as Keigo slumped to the ground, groaning.

Mizuiro looked down at Keigo. "Wow, Mr. Asano, you certainly are punishment prone." he said.

"You people…are heartless…" Keigo forced out as he lay on the ground, both hands holding his face.

"Well, well, well, now what do we have here?"

Once again, everyone's attention was drawn to the roof entrance where three more boys now stood. Ichigo rolled his eyes, grumbling as he ran a frustrated hand over his face.

"Tch, great…not these assholes again…" he muttered.

"Who are they?" Renji asked, finally looking up from his lunch.

"A trio of purebred scum bags…" Ichigo answered. "The one in the middle's named Kazuki, the "ring leader"; to his left is Hitoshi, and to his right is Ryo. They're nothing but womanizing pigs."

As if on cue, the three boys sauntered pass the rest of the group and stopped directly in front of Takuya.

"Well hello there." Kazuki said leering at the ebony-haired girl as his eyes traveled the length of her body. "When I heard the rumors about the beautiful new girl in class 1-3 I just had to see it for myself. And now that I see you…wow…I am just blown away."

Growling, Tatsuki stormed forward to pound the boy, but was immediately held back by Hitoshi and Ryo. "Kazuki! You had better get away from her, you low life scum!" she yelled, struggling to get out of the boys' grasps.

Kazuki glanced back at Tatsuki, smirking snobbishly at the struggling girl before turning back to Takuya, who had taken a step back. In one swift movement, he quickly closed the distance between them, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, preventing her from moving away again.

"A girl like you shouldn't be reduced to hanging around such garbage." he crooned, his face inches away from hers. "Why don't you come away with me to somewhere…a little less-crowded?"

"No thank you." Takuya said, trying to pry herself away from the boy.

"Oh come now, don't be like that." Kazuki said, his grip tightening slightly; he reached up and gently stroked her face. "You know you want to…"

"Alright, that's it!" Ichigo blurted out. "Get the hell off of her, jackass! She obviously doesn't want to be anywhere near your creepy ass!"

Kazuki leveled an arrogant glare at the ranting orange-haired boy. "Why don't you shut the hell up, noisy bastard." he sneered. "As if you could possibly even begin to imagine what she wants. Anyone can see that she's almost completely enthralled with my boyish charm and – UMPH!"

A large hand suddenly clamped over Kazuki's mouth, effectively silencing him. He, and everyone else, looked up to see none other than Grimmjow standing there, his bored scowl unflinchingly cemented in his expression. The instant he noticed Kazuki loosening his grip on Takuya he acted once again, ripping the boy away from the ebony-haired girl and slamming him into the roof's barrier. The boy hollered in pain as he collided with the steel bars face-first; he could feel the warm blood flowing from some newly acquired wound on his face. Hitoshi's and Ryo's jaws dropped, their hold on Tatsuki loosened in their shock; taking the opportunity, Tatsuki yanked herself free, causing both boys to lose their balance and fall backwards.

"Ugh…what the…what the hell is your deal man…?" Kazuki whimpered as he tried in vain to free himself from Grimmjow's vice grip. "Where the hell did you…even come from?"

"Look here, idiot…," Grimmjow began to speak, not yet bothering to look his way, "I don't know who you are, or even who you might _think_ you are, but let's get one thing straight. This girl is not to be toyed with, and shitheads like you who get bold enough to try might just find themselves waking up in hell."

Kazuki's eyes widened. "W-What do you mean?"

It was then that Grimmjow turned to look at the boy, who almost immediately began trembling like a leaf. His bored expression had remained in place, but behind the glint of his cerulean eyes lurked an unfathomable murderous intent that caused the blood to freeze in his veins.

"Fuck off…or die." the Espada replied flatly. "That clear enough for ya?"

Kazuki did his best to nod. "Yeah…crystal…" he squeaked.

At that, Grimmjow released his hold on the boy, letting him fall to the ground. Not a second after his feet made contact with the pavement, Kazuki hurriedly clambered away, Hitoshi and Ryo following close behind. After watching the trio disappear from the roof, everyone turned their attention back to the Espada, shocked to absolute silence. Grimmjow's brow furrowed when he realized he was being stared at.

"The hell are you idiots staring at?" he grumbled.

"That was AWESOME!" Keigo suddenly cheered. "I've never seen those guys run away so fast in my life! And now, my beautiful Takuya can breathe easy again – OWW!"

A fist had once again made contact with his face. Ichigo glared at the boy as he slumped to the ground once again, groaning. Mizuiro once again appeared in Keigo's face.

"You should really learn when to put a lid on it, Mr. Asano." he said.

"…Ugh, the pain…" Keigo forced out.

Ignoring the two's exchange, Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow. His actions had thrown him for a complete loop, so much so that he'd momentarily forgotten that the Espada had actually agreed to be Takuya's bodyguard, much to their great surprise. With an exasperated sigh, he folded his arms and turned his attention back to Keigo, who was still lying on the ground.

_Well, I guess hollows aren't the only things she'll need protection from…_

A minute later, the bell marking the end of the lunch break sounded.

"Alright, guys, let's get the rest of this day over with." Ichigo said as he and the rest of the group packed up the remnants of their lunches and began heading towards the roof entrance.

As they filed into the building, Takuya, who'd been silent since the "incident" with Kazuki, finally spoke up, but only loud enough for one person to hear her.

"Grimmjow…"

The Espada looked over his shoulder at the girl.

"Thank you…"

Mild surprise flashed over Grimmjow's scowling expression; he turned to face forward again. "Don't mention it." he finally said, the phrase feeling incredibly foreign on his tongue.

Takuya smiled at his retreating form, and for the first time that day, she didn't feel nervous at all.

* * *

Urahara looked up as Orihime, Takuya, and Grimmjow walked into the dining area.

"Ah, welcome back." he greeted them. "So, the first day of school has been completed successfully?"

"Yes it has." Takuya replied with a smile.

"Excellent." Urahara said before turning his attention to Grimmjow. "So…how was it?"

Grimmjow glared at the man for a second or two. "I spent the whole damn day surrounded by humans, nobody died, and I'm still sane. Joy."

"That's excellent. Hehe, what'd I tell ya? I knew it'd be a good experience for ya. It's gonna really help build that tolerance level of yours."

The Espada grumbled as he disappeared down the hallway. With a slight smile, Urahara redirected his gaze toward Takuya and Orihime.

"So, did everything go on without incident today?" he asked.

Both girls nodded.

"Well, everything except for this one situation we had at lunch time…" Takuya said, tapping her chin in thought. "This perverted guy tried to force himself on me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but Grimmjow saved her." Orihime said cheerily. "He got the boy away from her and basically told him not to come bothering her again. It was really nice of him."

"Yes, that was very nice indeed." Urahara said with a goofy grin. "Well, Takuya, I'm glad you enjoyed your first day."

"So am I." Takuya said as she and Orihime disappeared down the hallway as well.

Urahara released a contented sigh, taking a sip of the tea in front of him. _Everything seems to be going smoothly. I guess the real question now would be how long it's all going to last…_

"Kisuke."

A smile almost instinctively stretched across his face at the sound of that all-too-familiar voice. He turned to see a black cat trotting into the dining room.

"Yoruichi, great to see you." he said as the cat jumped lithely onto the table and sat down in front of him. "How long have you been back?"

"Long enough to know that there has been a hollow of incredibly destructive power in your presence for close to four days now and none of you seem too worried about it." the cat replied.

Urahara chuckled, bringing a hand up to adjust his hat. "Heh, always the observant one; I'd have been quite surprised if you didn't notice."

"You can save the flattering compliments." Yoruichi said. "You've got some serious explaining to do, starting now."

"Well, to be completely honest, there's not too much to explain." Urahara said. "Takuya – a young lady whom you hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, and who is currently staying here with us – stumbled upon Mr. Grimmjow Jaegarjaques three days ago as she was returning from the market. At the time she'd found him, he was injured substantially after being attacked by Aizen. He's now repaying his debt to Takuya for saving his life."

The cat shook its head in disbelief. "Kisuke do you even realize what it is your doing? You're not only harboring a _vasto lorde_, but you're _allowing_ him to roam freely among humans. Do you realize just how insanely dangerous that is, and the indescribable trouble you could get into if Soul Society gets wind of this? Oh, and let's not forget the ever-looming threat of Hueco Mundo. Did you consider just what you're gonna do if Aizen decides to come looking for his lost soldier?"

The shopkeeper took a slow sip of his tea, taking that time to mull over his answer. "I've taken all of that into thorough consideration. I'm well aware of everything that could possibly happen…everything that _will_ happen…if Grimmjow is discovered. Aizen, we're guessing, will eventually send his soldiers here to look for him when he realizes that he cannot track his spiritual pressure. And, once that happens, Soul Society will automatically become involved. All of us, not just Grimmjow, will automatically be in danger of either being killed by Aizen's forces, or automatically sentenced to execution by Head Captain for acts that will no doubt be considered high treason, or merely being a hollow in Grimmjow's case. When this is over, we could all very well be dead."

He then looked back up to meet the cat's golden eyes.

"But…we are prepared for that. We're prepared to face that inescapable truth when and _if_ it comes – well, actually Rukia's not too thrilled about it and for good reason, but the rest of us are. Think about it, Yoruichi. This Espada is a wealth of information; we now have the capability of thwarting any of Aizen's plans before they get underway. Opportunities like this don't just occur for any reason at all."

Yoruichi's whiskers twitched in slight frustration. "Kisuke, this isn't just any hollow out of Aizen's army. It's one of his strongest soldiers -"

"Did I mention that he isn't loyal to Aizen?" Urahara cut in. "In fact, Aizen's attack on him was rooted in the discovery of Grimmjow's plot to defy his direct orders."

The cat's eyes widened at that statement. "…That alone doesn't prove disloyalty…"

"He's also made it clear that he doesn't respect Aizen's leadership in the slightest and that he would readily kill himself before carrying out any of his orders, and that when he acquires the proper strength, he plans to kill the ex-captains."

Yoruichi's eyes widened even more, and she was momentarily speechless. Her golden eyes searched his gray ones for any sort of doubt or uncertainty, but she only succeeding in finding raw determination.

"Are you certain of this?" she asked. "Are you sure it wasn't just a ruse to get you to even partially drop your guard?"

"I'm positive." Urahara replied. "He's only been here for a couple days, but already he's shown that he isn't one for smoke screens."

"…And there is absolutely no swaying you, is there?"

"I'm afraid not."

With a small sigh, the cat leapt off the table. "Well, I suppose there's no helping it…I do hate when you get like this." she said. "However, if this is the path you are choosing to take, then you have my full support."

"Thank you, Yoruichi." Urahara said.

Yoruichi smiled slightly and rolled her eyes at the man before heading toward the shop's exit.

* * *

**Alright, Chapter 7 completed! How's that for an extra long chapter! Guess I got a little carried away in my writing, lol! Anywho, what'd ya think? ALL opinions are welcome… Thanks again for reading!**

**xLSx**


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey, everyone, it's me again. Man, I never thought I'd get back here. So much stuff has been occurring in my life since the last time I updated, which was a little over a month ago now… (My brother came home from Iraq CHEERS, my work load has picked up :P, I've been coming and going a whole lot …) Well it's good to be back. Now, without further delay, here is Chapter eight! Enjoy!_

_A/N: …you guys know what I'm about to say right?_

* * *

**Chapter Eight:**

**The Day of Revelation, Pt. 1**

Awkward silence had rapidly become an understatement that Friday morning. Yoruichi – now in her human form - sat at the small table almost staring at the two people that sat across from her. Takuya and Grimmjow merely stared back, the former looking confused in the haze of sleep that had not yet lifted from her, and the latter looking irritated at the notion that he was woken out of his sleep just to stare in the face of another shinigami.

_So this is Takuya Hokkaido and Grimmjow Jaegarjaques…_

"Takuya, Grimmjow, this is Yoruichi Shihoin." Urahara said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. "As you may have already guessed, she, too, is a shinigami, and she will be helping us with our…uh, situation."

Takuya smiled sleepily. "Pleased to meet you." she spoke sleepily, extending her hand for the woman to shake.

Yoruichi reached out and shook the girl's hand. "You as well." she said; she then turned her gaze to the Espada. "It's also nice to meet you, Mr. Jaegarjaques."

Grimmjow grunted and turned his glare to the nearest wall. Yoruichi stared at the Espada for a minute before smiling slyly. _Heh, typical hollow…even though he's been here for an entire week now he still completely loathes shinigami. Hmmm, I wonder how he'll respond to this though…_

"You know you're quite the looker, Grimmjow. Yes…very attractive." she said suddenly in a low, seductive tone, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table. "I could just stare into those clear blue eyes all…day…_long_."

Almost immediately after the words left the woman's lips, Grimmjow felt his stomach lurch violently, and he began to literally gag in blatant disgust. Yoruichi laughed heartily at the Espada's reaction.

"Now, now, I was just joking." she reassured in an amused tone.

Grimmjow glared back at the woman, his expression looking absolutely murderous. "I'll fucking kill you…shinigami." he growled.

Yoruichi opened her mouth to respond again but was immediately cut off when Takuya spoke again.

"That wasn't a very nice joke." the ebony-haired girl said, a slightly worried glance shifting over to the Espada sitting next to her; her crystalline gaze then shifted back to Yoruichi. "You should really try to be nice to him, considering he's trying really hard _not_ to be mean to you."

The comment shocked the dark-skinned woman to speechlessness. She blinked several times as if her eyes would help clear up what her ears just heard. _Did she just…did she just…__**defend**__ him?_

"Well," Urahara cut in before more awkward silence could ensue, "I think it's about time for the two of you to get ready for school, right?"

As if on cue, Takuya and Grimmjow stood up and headed for the hallway. Before she completely disappeared, the ebony-haired girl turned around once more and bowed slightly.

"It was nice to meet you, Miss Yoruichi." she said, and then she turned and vanished into the hallway.

Urahara sighed slightly as he moved to sit down across from the golden-eyed woman, who still looked as shocked as ever. "Well…that went rather well, wouldn't you agree?"

Yoruichi snapped out of her shocked trance and looked at the shopkeeper. "Well that would depend on your definition of "rather well"." she replied; she shook her head in mild disbelief. "…She defended him…"

"That shouldn't surprise you that terribly." Urahara said. "He has been here from quite a bit of time now, and they have been spending some measure of time together since he is her bodyguard and all."

"So what, you're saying that that makes them "best buddies" now?" Yoruichi asked sarcastically.

"No, I'm just saying that there's an understanding between the two of them that the rest of us probably don't have, that's all." Urahara stated.

Yoruichi looked at the man for a second or so before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "I swear, you have an explanation for everything."

Urahara chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose I do. Now, there are a few more things about those two that you should be made aware of…"

* * *

The half empty classroom was kind of quiet that morning. Takuya sat at her desk with her chin in her palm staring thoughtfully out of the window and up into the sky, watching the sparsely scattered clouds slowly creep by. A small smile drifted onto her lips.

_So peaceful…_ she thought. _I bet it's really quiet and peaceful up there. Hmmm…I wonder what it would be like to just sit on a cloud…_

"Hey there." a female voice coming from behind her broke her out of her daydream.

She didn't have to turn around to know what was going on. Every day that week since Tuesday, girls their class and other classes were constantly approaching Grimmjow, all of them coming with the same motive in mind – flirting. It would never last long, however, because the Espada never paid the girls even the slightest bit of attention. He would shift his attention to the window, staring out at nothing in particular until the girls got tired of trying and left feeling completely dejected. Takuya sighed as she listened to today's first victim make her pitch.

The girl turned to her two friends that stood a step behind her giggling slightly and mouthing "watch and learn" before turning back to Grimmjow. "My name's Nanako…you're Grimmjow, right?"

Grimmjow did not respond, and merely turned his scowling gaze to the world outside the classroom window. Nanako waited only a second or two before asking another question.

"Are you from around here?"

No response.

"How old are you?"

No response.

"Are you single?"

No response.

"…Do you even talk?"

No response.

By now, Nanako was getting slightly frustrated, completely unused to being shunned by any boy she took interest in as she was frequently classified as one of the prettiest girls in the whole school. She hardly ever sought attention; boys practically threw themselves at her, vying for _her_ attention. A frown furrowed her brow slightly now.

_What on earth is with this guy? He refuses to even acknowledge my presence. He hasn't even looked at me yet!_

"Umm…hello? I am talking to _you_ if you hadn't realized." she said flatly. "It's very rude to ignore people ya'know."

Grimmjow's scowl deepened, hinting at his rapidly growing annoyance. He mentally began counting to 100 and forcing himself _not_ to cero the highly aggravating female to cold oblivion.

"Are you even listening to me right now?" Nanako's voice raised a notch, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "I'm talking to you –"

"He hears you." Takuya said, her quiet, even voice abruptly cutting the girl off. "But, I'm fairly sure that he wishes he couldn't."

Nanako turned and glared venomously at the girl. "Excuse me?"

Takuya then turned to face Nanako, her expression as calm as ever. "While it is rude to ignore someone when he or she is talking to you, it is also rude to pester someone who quite obviously does not want to be bothered."

"Rude…and annoying." Ichigo added grimly.

"Useless, too." Renji also added dryly. "And incredibly dumb, on your part."

Ignoring the guys' comments, Nanako's eyes narrowed on Takuya. "You're that new girl, aren't you?"

"That is correct. My name is Takuya Hokkaido." the ebony-haired girl replied with a slight smile.

Nanako harrumphed as she stepped over to Takuya's desk. "So you're the girl all the boys in the school are raving about. Tch, I don't see why though…you look like a Plain Jane to me."

Takuya merely blinked at the girl, seemingly unaffected by the obvious insult, which seemed to serve only to further upset the girl.

"Well listen up, _Plain Jane_, don't think I don't realize what you were trying to do with that little comment of yours." she hissed. "You're just trying to get me out of the picture so you can have him all to yourself. Well don't think for one minute that you can beat me out! I can run circles around you, little girl."

Takuya's calm expression slowly shifted to a confused one. "…I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say…"

"Oh, now you're trying to make me look stupid?" Nanako snapped; she shoved her finger in Takuya's face. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! _You_ keep your little _paws_ off of _my_ Grimmjow!"

Takuya glared at the hand that had been shoved in her face, and then pass it to the little crowd that had begun to form around them, all eagerly watching to see what would happen next. She felt her face reddening under all the piercing eyes. Something churned within her now, an unfamiliar feeling of anger that was causing her blood to run hot in her veins. Her gray eyes found the Nanako's face again as she brought her own hand up to move the hand away from her face.

"I'd strongly suggest you never put your hand in my face again." she said, her voice eerily calm. "That is…unless you don't mind losing that hand…."

Nanako gasped, stepping back and immediately retracting her hand as she did so. Her expression had contorted into disbelief, and she shivered slightly under the ebony-haired girl's suddenly intense glare.

"This…isn't over." she was finally able to say after a minute or two before storming out of the room, followed closely by her friends.

Takuya glared at the door for a second or so before turning to face forward in her seat. Almost immediately after she resituated herself, a wave of dizziness washed over her, leaving her feeling lightheaded, nauseous, and weak. Shaky hands rose to her face, running over her forehead as she closed her eyes and tried to steady herself.

_What…? What's going on? I feel sick all the sudden…but why? What's happening to me?_

"Takuya, you ok?" Ichigo's concerned voice drew her back to reality.

The ebony-haired girl looked up to meet Ichigo's gaze. "Y-Yeah, I'm ok." she answered, forcing a smile. "I guess I kinda surprised myself there…"

"Heh, you surprised all of us." Ichigo said a hint of laughter in his voice now. "But, at least you put that yappy girl in her place."

"Yeah…I guess…"

"Alright students, get into your seats. It's time to get started." Ochi-sensei declared as she walked into the class room. "Today we will be beginning our study on myths and legends. Open your history books to page 225."

"The Legend of Akiko…never heard of this before." Ichigo mumbled as his eyes skimmed over the first page of the chapter.

"It's a lovely story; my brother used to read it to me all the time when I was little." Orihime chimed. "Akiko, the benevolent maiden of light or the light guardian, was a very powerful deity who protected the world against all dangers, minor and cataclysmic, for many millennia with her two loyal companions Hikari and Akira."

"Yeah that's nice of you to share and all, Orihime, but check out this picture on page 229." Mizuiro said, staring down at his book. "This Akiko lady looks _exactly_ like Takuya."

The rustling of pages filled the atmosphere of the classroom, followed by shocked gasps and mumbles of agreement to what Mizuiro had said. Takuya just sat there for a minute or so, watching quietly – and nervously – as eyes found her face, returned to textbooks, and then found her face again.

"Wow, he's actually right." Ichigo said, clearly surprised as he turned to face Takuya, textbook in hand. "Hey, look at this."

Takuya hesitantly looked at the book placed in front of her, and her heart skipped a few beats when she saw the picture that took up the entirety of page 229 in bold, brilliant colors. The Lady Akiko _did_ look just like her. Her hair, eyes, and even her skin tone matched hers perfectly. Her eyes continued to widen when she noticed what stood on either side of the woman. Two white tigers flanked the maiden, each with a pair of gleaming sapphire eyes. The ebony-haired girl felt herself draw back slightly from the book in front of her. _T-tigers…?_

"…What…?"

"I know…this is borderline freakish." Ichigo said.

"This is what made me think of you when I saw the tiger pendants." Orihime said, turning towards Takuya with a smile. "You look so much like Akiko, and Akiko had tigers as her companions, so I thought that it would be an awesome good fortune charm for you."

"Yes…I see…" Takuya breathed her eyes seemingly unable to come away from the picture. "Say, Orihime…was Akiko…human?"

"No she wasn't, but she could take human form." Orihime replied. "Akiko's true form was that of a giant white tiger."

Time seemed to stop around a rapidly paling Takuya as her brain tried to receive everything that she was hearing and seeing. Almost instantly, images from the strange dream she had nights ago began to replay before her mind's eye.

"_I, Takuya Hokkaido…am you... I am the essence of your true nature, the embodiment of your true power…"_

She felt her heart start to race in her chest. _This can't be happening right now…can it? I have to be caught up in another weird dream…right? That has to be it… This is all a dream, and I'll wake up any moment now…_

"Takuya!"

Takuya's eyes suddenly snapped open as she suddenly became aware of her name being called. She gasped slightly when she found herself on the floor staring up at Grimmjow, Ichigo, Renji, and Ochi-sensei. Behind them was the rest of the class, staring down at her with worried expressions on their faces.

"Takuya, dear, are you alright?" Ochi-sensei asked.

"Yes…I'm ok." the ebony-haired girl answered. "But, how exactly did I end up on the floor?"

"You were passed out for like three minutes." Ichigo said. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes." Takuya replied as she immediately willed herself to sit up. "I'm probably just weak from…not having breakfast this morning. I should be back to my normal self after lunch."

With a little help, Takuya got to her feet and returned to her desk. "I really am sorry for making everyone worry like this." she said.

"It's alright." Renji said with a slight smile. "Just remember to eat breakfast tomorrow."

After a minute or so, class returned to normal with everyone drifting back to their discussions of the photo and its strangely striking resemblance to Takuya. The girl herself turned her focus to the world outside the classroom window.

_I'm overreacting, there's no way that that's me. It's all just a really big coincidence…_ With a slight sigh, she ran her hands through her hair. _I'm just ready for this day to be over now…_

"How old are you?"

The sudden question yanked Takuya out of her thoughts and drew her attention to the blue-haired Espada sitting behind her. "I'm sorry?"

"How old are you, girl?" Grimmjow repeated. "Tell me how old you are."

Takuya stared at Grimmjow for a second, as if trying to come up with an answer. "I'm…I guess…I'm a teenager, if I have to attend a high school…"

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. "You don't remember ever attending a school, and now you can't seem to remember how old you are…"

"What are you getting at?"

"How do you know that this _isn't_ you in this book?"

"There's no way that that's me."

"I'm asking you, _how_ the hell do you _know_?"

"Because…I-I'm too young…and I'm sure I haven't done anything notable enough to land in a history book…much less become some sort of legend."

"Hmmm, that so?"

Takuya gasped when Grimmjow suddenly handed her his book. "Read that page." he said, his tone almost demanding. Hesitating slightly, Takuya began reading.

_~ Page 230 ~_

_And, after many months, the vast armies of hollowed demons were defeated, and the dark war that had once covered the land of men had finally come to an end. With her great power, Akiko brought about restoration to the living world with aid from the soul guardians. After a year's time, peace was finally returned to the earth and all was returned to normal. Wearied from the long and tumultuous battle, Akiko decided to enter a state of restorative dormancy until the time came where her power was needed once more._

"_**This great land is now at peace…so shall I be at peace."**_

_These 1,000-year-old words are said to be the last words to be heard echoing over mountain tops and villages throughout the world, followed by a bright beam of warming blue light that engulfed everything it touched…her final promise to return if ever the world was found to be in grave danger once again. From then on, that day was recognized as the "Day of Peaceful Light," a day in which the color blue is worn by all in representation of the lasting promise made by the maiden of light._

_There are none who know exactly what happened to the great deity after the light faded. Some say that she sealed herself away in a hidden shrine and sleeps undisturbed. Others believe that she sealed her dormant powers within the body of a human being worthy enough to guard them. But, perhaps the most popular belief is that Akiko sealed her power within her own human form and then hid every trace of herself away from the world, allowing herself to become an ordinary human being._

Takuya found her eyes widening once again as she stared at the page. Finally able to rip her eyes away from the book, she slowly handed it back to Grimmjow.

"This world is in danger again." the Espada muttered. "An inevitable war is brewing now that will encompass the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, _and_ the world of the living by winter's time. Aizen is going to invade Karakura town, and use its land and inhabitants as fodder to fuel his worthless ambitions."

Takuya gasped in disbelief. "How…how do you know that?"

"Tch, the hell do you mean how do I know? I was one of his fucking pawns."

It was then that Takuya's gray eyes rose from her lap to meet his intense cerulean glare. The Espada's own eyes narrowed even more, causing her to flinch slightly and look away again. She released a deep sigh before she spoke again.

"It may be true that I do not remember much of anything about my past, or even my life before coming here to Karakura…but that alone does not mean that I'm some demon goddess from a legend that I've never known until now. I am Takuya Hokkaido…that fact is the one thing that I am certain of, beyond any reasonable doubt. That is who I am."

A low growl rumbled in Grimmjow's chest, but he didn't respond. Instead he snapped the history book shut and turned his own attention to the window.

_Tch… She really has no idea…_

* * *

**Chapter Eight down the hatch! This chapter was actually way longer than this, so long in fact that I **_**had**_** to split it into two parts. So, did you like it? Did it seem dragged out? Let me know what you think! ALL opinions are welcome… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi all, back again, lol. Here, for your reading pleasure, is Chapter nine aka "Part 2!" I hope you guys are enjoying it so far! :D_

_A/N: No, I don't own Bleach._

* * *

**Chapter Nine:**

**The Day of Revelation, Pt. 2**

The trek home from school was awkwardly silent. Random sighs were released here and there, and there was an occasional throat clearing, but besides that, no one said much of anything.

"Soooo…," Ichigo suddenly said, finally unable to stand the tense lull drifting amongst the group, "Takuya, Grimmjow…how does it feel to know that you've successfully completed your first week of high school?"

"It feels great." Takuya replied. "I suppose now I can appreciate the weekends more."

Light laughter reverberated through the group. Ichigo glanced back at Grimmjow, who had yet to respond. "Grimmjow, what about you?"

The Espada rolled his eyes. "Joy." he muttered.

"Oh c'mon, it couldn't have been that bad." Ichigo said.

Grimmjow glared incredulously at the orange-haired boy. "I was surrounded by humans every day for a whole fucking week…meaning I've had to fight the natural urge to just kill everyone and be done with it…for a whole fucking week. All I feel like doing right now is killing something."

Rukia harrumphed. "Typical hollow thoughts for a typical hollow." she scoffed.

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed at the shinigami woman, a wicked smile curving his lips. "I'd gladly twist your head off your body like a cork…if I didn't have to reach down so damn far to get to it. Fucking dwarf."

Rukia glared coldly at the Espada, gritting her teeth. "You know what, _Espada_, if it were up to me, I'd –"

"Rukia, that's enough." Ichigo said his tone suddenly serious. "We've got company…"

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the sound of echoing howls begin to erupt throughout the atmosphere. The once perfectly blue sky became littered with dark spots representative of black holes through which numerous hollows of various sizes began to enter Karakura, all of them seemingly headed straight for the group.

"Hollows…and a lot of them." Renji said, his eyes almost immediately shifting to Takuya; the girl looked absolutely pale, her eyes widened with fear.

"Well, Grimmjow, you did say you wanted to kill something. Guess now's your chance." Ichigo said as he, Rukia, and Renji changed into their shinigami forms. "Just remember that you've got a life to protect."

"Shut it, Kurosaki. I know what the hell I gotta do." Grimmjow snapped as he dug into his pocket and pulled out the box Urahara had given him.

Without hesitation, he plucked the soul candy from the box and swallowed it, immediately separating himself from his gigai. He glanced back the gigai for a split second before redirecting his attention to the hollows. _Man that's fucking weird…_

"They're coming!" Uryuu shouted materializing his bow as the hollows began to advance on them.

At that moment, the warriors charged straight into the hordes of hollows and immediately began hacking the beasts down. Back on the ground, Orihime activated her _Santen Kesshun_. She then glanced back behind her, her eyes momentarily resting on Chad before stopping at Takuya; while she wasn't trembling as she had been during the hollow attack several days ago, fear was still etched into her expression. Her eyes then shifted to Grimmjow's now-animated gigai, who currently stood at Takuya's side looking up at the battling warriors.

"Umm…did Urahara give you a name?" she asked timidly.

The gigai looked at the auburn-haired girl. "No." was his simple reply.

"Ok, how about…how about we call you Grimm?"

"Fine."

Orihime smiled at this. "Ok, Takuya, Chad, Grimm, you have nothing to worry about. I swear to do my best to keep you three –"

"Orihime!" Takuya suddenly shouted, prompting the girl to turn around just in time to see a stray hollow charging right at them.

Steeling her resolve, Orihime prepared to counter. "_Koten Zanshun_, I reje-"

Before she could complete the incantation, a ball of red energy collided with the hollow's head, killing it on contact. The four looked up to see Grimmjow hovering a several feet above them. The scowl on his face deepened as he spotted more hollows barreling towards the three from behind. Snarling, he sonido'ed to the ground, impeding the path of the charging hollows and ripping them apart with his bare hands. He then turned toward the group only to see yet another, slightly larger group of hollows coming their way. Not wasting any time, he leapt in front of the group and outstretched his arm. Red energy pooled into his palm and launched, releasing a massive cero at the charging beasts and disintegrating them all. His attention turned back to the sky, at which moment his scowl transformed into a frustrated glare. More and more hollows slipped through the masses, going out of their way to avoid swinging zanpakutous and quincy arrows and barreling straight for the four.

"Tch, what the hell…?" he spat as he moved in to meet the creatures head on.

He charged a cero in both hands and released them simultaneously, blasting every hollow unlucky enough to fall into its path to oblivion. Much to his annoyance, however, even more came, practically trying to fly straight pass him en route to the ground. He cursed profusely as he proceeded to hack the creatures to pieces.

"What the fuck is with these bastards?"

"Grimmjow," Renji's voice only partially drew the Espada's attention, "it isn't us these hollows want; they're all going after Takuya!"

Grimmjow barely had to look back at the red-headed shinigami in disbelief for the countless hollows trying to get pass him and make it to the group on the ground. "What the hell makes you believe that?"

Renji hacked through several more hollows before answering. "Because, it was the same way the last time we were attacked! It paid absolutely no attention to me or Orihime. All it wanted was to get to Takuya, and it's the same with these as well. They're trying to eat her so they can absorb her spirit energy!"

"Humph, exactly the level of perception I'd expect from shinigami trash…" the eerily monotonous voice echoed through the crowded air, and it was only seconds later that Grimmjow suddenly felt something being shoved through his torso.

At that moment, the blue-haired Espada didn't know what frustrated him more…the fact that _he_ had been caught off guard, or the sudden realization of the identity tied with the hand now protruding out of his chest. Before he could make another move himself, the hand was retracted from his body, causing blood to immediately pool into his mouth. Spitting, he finally turned to face his assailant.

"Ulquiorra…" he hissed, his pained expression intertwining with rage.

"So it was as Lord Aizen said, you are in hiding among the trash here in the world of the living." the green-eyed Espada recounted. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected any less from someone of your mental capacity."

He then turned toward Renji and the others. "The only purpose that these hollows are serving is that of a diversion. Their selected target of attack is of no consequence to the appointed task at hand, which is merely to collect two pieces of trash that Lord Aizen has shown some sort of meager interest in."

Grimmjow glared at his archrival…and glare was all he could do. Much to his annoyance, the pain was rapidly spreading through his body like wildfire through dry terrain, paralyzing his limbs. _Dammit… What the hell did this son of a bitch do to me? Why the fuck can't I move?_

Ulquiorra redirected his attention toward Grimmjow. "I have succeeded in acquiring one of my targets, however shamefully easy it was to do so. And now, only one remains…"

His green eyes shifted pass Grimmjow and toward the group staring up at him from the ground below, immediately singling out Orihime. The auburn-haired girl trembled under his icy gaze. "You, girl, you are coming with me."

"**AHHHHHHHHHH**!" Takuya's sudden scream pierced the air, drawing everyone's attention; even the myriad of hollows still pouring through the holes in the sky halted their mindless assault.

The ebony-haired girl was doubled over and trembling violently, her arms wound tightly around her abdomen. Her eyes wear wide with fear and pain, and her breathing was rapid and shallow. Beads of sweat covered her face.

"Takuya, what's wrong?" Orihime asked almost frantically as she reached out to console the girl; she drew her hands back almost immediately, however, when she found the girl's skin to be incredibly hot to the touch. "Takuya…what…"

"It's burning…something's…burning me…from inside my…body…" Takuya forced out, her voice sounding incredibly strained.

"Just hold on, ok? I'm gonna try to help." Orihime reassured, trying her best not to sound panicked. "_Söten Kisshun_, I…AHHH!"

The auburn-haired girl was suddenly blown backwards when energy suddenly came flooding out from Takuya's body, surrounding her in a surreal blue light and lifting her off the ground. Ichigo and the others stared in shock as the light twisted and churned around the girl's body; Ulquiorra's eyes widened ever so slightly, but his expression remained blank.

"What in the hell…?" Ichigo breathed.

Then suddenly, without any prior warning, the light rapidly expanded in a roaring explosion of energy, engulfing everything and everyone it touched. After a minute or so, the light finally began to fade, revealing an unscathed blue sky. All traces of the hordes of hollows were completely gone, and Ulquiorra had all but disappeared. After checking themselves over to ensure they were still in one piece, everyone's attention immediately returned to Takuya. The girl hung motionlessly in the air, still yet surrounded by a faint shield of flickering light. A few seconds passed before that light finally flickered out, leaving her unconscious form to tumble to the ground. Before her body could make contact with the pavement below, Grimmjow appeared, effortlessly catching her in his arms. He frowned at how unnaturally warm her body was, the scent of fever rolling off her in waves.

"Is she alright?" Ichigo asked urgently as he and everyone else gathered around Grimmjow and stared down at Takuya.

"She's unconscious, and she's burning up." the Espada replied tiredly; he shifted her weight in his arms, positioning her so that she wasn't held against his bleeding chest. "We need to get her back to the shopkeeper. No doubt he's aware of what happened here."

"Yeah, you're right." Ichigo agreed, his eyes leveling on the wound in the Espada's chest. "Do you need one of us to carry her? I know she's probably no that heavy to you, but any strain on that wound of yours amounts to a lot of strain since it's not been treated."

"I'm fine." Grimmjow muttered. "Let's just get the hell out of here."

Deciding it was best not to argue, Ichigo merely nodded a reluctant "ok," and with that, the group hurriedly made their way to Urahara's shop.

Meanwhile, Ulquiorra landed lithely on one of the taller buildings in the town, a substantial distance away from the site of the attack he staged. He managed to escape the energy explosion; however, he had not done so unscathed. His clothes were singed in multiple places, and his left arm, and both his legs had been burned. As he examined his condition, his mind went to work attempting to identify the girl's bizarre power.

_A human girl, in whom I'd only detected a negligible amount of unidentifiable spirit energy, has displayed that she is no ordinary human. And to release so much of it at one time as a means of attack…_ the green-eyed Espada glanced into the direction where he knew Ichigo and the others to be. _That is…very interesting indeed…_

* * *

**Chapter Nine, aka Part 2, completed! Things are starting to pick up now; we'll just have to see what happens next! Did you like it? Hate it? Feel free to share your thoughts… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello again, everyone! I'm back again with an update (YAY!). Again, many thanks to all my readers and reviewers, you guys truly inspire me. :D Chapter Ten comin' your way in three, two…_

_A/N: …_

* * *

**Chapter Ten:**

**Preparation and Realization**

Urahara stood from his seated position just outside the shop entrance as the group approached.

"I've been waiting for you." he said as they hurriedly made their way to Takuya's room. "Is she alright?"

"She's got a really bad fever." Ichigo answered. "Any further damage beyond that, we really don't know."

Finally reaching Takuya's room, Urahara slid the door open, allowing Grimmjow to enter first and following him in with everyone else close behind him. The Espada laid Takuya down on her bed and then moved to seat himself against the wall next to it. Ichigo and the others sat around the bed, and Urahara sat down next to the bed, almost immediately joined by Tessai, Hanataro, Ururu, and Jinta, and began examining the girl. He touched his hand to her cheek, and drew it back a second or so later, his eyes widening in mild shock.

"She's really burning up…" he said the slightest hint of worry in his voice. "Ururu, Jinta, I need ice, a whole bucket of it, as well as a bucket of water, as cold as you can get it. Bring rags, too."

Ururu and Jinta nodded in understanding, getting up and quickly leaving the room to complete their assigned tasks.

"I can literally feel the heat radiating off of her body." Urahara said, folding his arms. "Look at her…she's sweating bullets."

Hanataro leaned forward to conduct his own examination. He pulled a thermometer from his medic bag and slid it into Takuya's mouth. After a few seconds he removed it and looked at the reading; worry immediately etched itself into his expression.

"104.9…she's reaching hyperthermia… We should probably get this sweater vest off of her for starters…her shoes and socks as well. That might help cool her down at least a little bit."

Orihime removed Takuya's sweater vest, and Uryuu removed her shoes and socks. At that time, Ururu and Jinta returned to the room with buckets of water and ice and a handful of cloth rags. Hanataro took one of the cloth rags and dipped it into the cold water.

"We'll hold off on the ice for the moment." he said. "We want her temperature to go down at a steady rate; applying ice immediately may cause it to plummet, and that would create a whole new set of problems for her."

After squeezing out the excess water, Hanataro ran the cloth over Takuya's face and neck, the part of her chest that was exposed, her shoulders, arms, and legs. As he worked, Urahara glanced up at Grimmjow, who sat against the wall next to Takuya's bed, his arms folded and his eyes closed. The wound to the Espada's chest – or rather _through_ his chest – had not gone unnoticed by the shopkeeper. It had him wondering, in fact, just how it was that the Espada was still alive and able to move. He pondered this for several moments. _Maybe it's sheer willpower. He seems to have a lot of that…_

"Orihime, I'd like you to take care of that wound in Grimmjow's chest." he said.

Orihime nodded and moved to where the Espada sat, placing herself right in front of him. "_ Söten Kisshun_…I reject."

A warm orange light appeared then, covering the entirety of Grimmjow's torso; within about a minute's time, the hole in the Espada's chest was completely closed, and the orange light faded. Orihime smiled at her work.

"There, all better."

Grimmjow stared down at his chest in shock. He put his hand over the place where the wound had been, and became even more shocked when he didn't feel any sign that the wound had been there in the first place.

"What the hell…?" he breathed.

Urahara chuckled at the Espada's reaction. "That, Grimmjow, would be the power that Aizen is after – Orihime's ability to completely reverse, or reject, any damage caused to a person or object, returning it to the state it was in before any event changed it. I take it that this is your first time seeing it…quite remarkable, isn't it?"

Grimmjow didn't respond, returning his arms to their folded position across his chest and shutting his eyes once again as Orihime slid back to her spot beside the bed. Urahara sighed as he returned his attention to Hanataro as he steadily worked to cool Takuya down as best he could.

"I felt the presence of a familiar evil in the midst of all those hollows, one that belonged to one of the first two Espada to make an appearance here in the world of the living." he stated after a slight pause.

"It was Ulquiorra." Ichigo said. "He came here to try and capture Orihime and Grimmjow. All those hollows that appeared prior to his own appearance were used as a diversion to distract us from sensing his presence I assume. Needless to say it worked. We had no idea he was there until he was shoving his hand through Grimmjow's chest."

"He would've succeeded…had it not been for that massive energy explosion that came from Takuya's body." Renji added. "I've never seen anything like that before. It was like…a giant globe of blue light, and it wiped out every last one of those hollow hordes that showed up there today. And there's no doubt that it at least injured Ulquiorra before he got away…"

"It didn't wipe out _every_ hollow." Rukia said pointedly. "Grimmjow is still here. Why didn't that explosion wipe _him_ out too?"

"Hmmm…perhaps Takuya was able to distinguish friend from foe even in her subconscious state, seeing as we all remained practically unscathed even after being engulfed in the light." Uryuu suggested.

Urahara adjusted his hat on his head. "Well, no matter the explanation, we can safely assume as of now, that Aizen has already begun to make his move, and Soul Society won't be too far behind. Things are about to get a whole lot more complicated."

"So what's the plan now? What exactly are we supposed to do?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, first things first…we have to ensure that they do not discover what Grimmjow really is." Urahara replied, glancing over at the Espada.

"That'll be easy enough, won't it? I mean he has a gigai now, and he's still suppressing his spiritual pressure."

"Maybe we should give him an alias to go along with that." Uryuu suggested. "That would make him seem even less suspicious. How about something like…uhhh…Jack?"

"Jack's a good choice." Orihime chimed in.

"Hmmm, indeed it is." Urahara agreed. "Did you get all that Grimmjow?"

The Espada cracked an eye open and looked at the shopkeeper.

"In addition to all this, you're gonna have to exercise some of that tolerance you've undoubtedly accumulated during your time at school. I'm aware of your position as far as shinigami are concerned with you being a hollow and all, but your cooperation with this is extremely imperative, for your sake and for ours."

Grimmjow looked at Urahara a second longer before shutting his half-lidded eyes. "I ain't stupid. I know what I gotta do."

Urahara nodded. "Very good." he said before looking back toward Hanataro. "How is she doing?"

"Well, her temperature is in the safe zone now, at the very least; she's not out of the woods yet though." Hanataro replied as he filled a small plastic bag with ice, wrapped it in cloth rags, and set it on Takuya's stomach. "Her temperature is still unusually warm at her core, and that's probably do to the sudden surge of her once practically dormant spirit energy."

"Hmmm, I think "unusually warm" might be putting things a little too lightly." Ichigo remarked; he poked the cloth-wrapped bag warily with his index finger. "The ice has already melted almost completely. You sure you didn't mean unusually _hot_?"

Hanataro lifted the wilted bag from Takuya's stomach. "Well…there is still a substantial amount of energy flowing from her body, and it's being emitted from her core…"

"It's taking a lot longer to diminish this time around, and that's undoubtedly because so much of it was released at one time." Tessai inputted.

"Yeah; I figure it'll be tomorrow morning at the latest before it's completely quieted again." Urahara added.

Orihime looked down at the unconscious girl for a second longer before slowly outstretching her hand and carefully placing it on her stomach. Everyone's eyes were immediately drawn to the auburn-haired, who had closed her own eyes. She stayed this way for a little over a minute before opening her eyes again and retracting her hand. Ichigo watched as a shadow of a smile drifted over her features as she placed her hand back into her lap.

"Orihime?"

"Her body is adjusting to the heat and to her newfound spirit energy." Orihime said. "She's gonna be ok; she just needs to rest."

"You figured all that out just by touching her?" Renji asked, slightly surprised.

The auburn-haired girl nodded; she then released a slight sigh. "I guess she got to return the favor after all, huh Renji?"

The red-headed shinigami nodded, his eyes going back to Takuya. "Yeah…I guess she did."

Everyone's eyes shifted between Orihime and Renji before a silent mutual decision was made not to ask what the two were talking about. After a few more minutes of silence, Urahara stood up and cleared his throat.

"Let's leave her to rest." he said. "In the meantime, we have things to discuss."

At that everyone stood up and filtered out of the room – everyone except Grimmjow. Urahara looked at the Espada, trying to decide if he merely had his eyes closed or if he'd actually fallen asleep. He glanced at his face; the tensed, scowling expression it usually held had relaxed into an almost peaceful one. Reaching his conclusion, he quietly left the room and headed for the dining area.

"Where's Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked as the shopkeeper entered the room.

"He's still in the room with Takuya." Urahara replied as he took his place at the table.

"Well why didn't you make him come around here with us?" Rukia asked snippily. "He's not exempt from all this…in fact it's because of him that we're –"

"He's sleeping, so I left him be." Urahara said, cutting Rukia off yet again. "After today he, as well as the rest of us, won't get too many chances to relax. From here on in, we're going to permanently be on our toes, and we have to be absolutely ready for anything and everything."

At that moment, the black cat form of Yoruichi bounded into the dining area, leapt up on the table and planted herself directly in front of Urahara. "Yamamoto's preparing to deploy a squad to the world of the living for investigative purposes. They'll be here tomorrow."

"Do you know who exactly he's sending in for this?" Ichigo asked.

"No, but I am sure of one of them – Soi Fon…she's supposed to be heading the investigation."

"Soi Fon? Why the hell is he sending her in?" Renji asked.

"It's because of that massive surge of unknown energy, which I assume came from Takuya." Yoruichi said, looking over at Renji. "Yamamoto's very curious about it and supposedly wants to learn all he can about it."

"Hmm…a curiosity probably rooted in the discovery of whether or not this "new power" is for or against Soul Society and the living world." Urahara stated. "Either way, if Soi Fon is the one being sent here, we're going to have to be a little more precautious. She's not exactly the pleasant type."

"Tch, I'll say." Renji muttered.

Yoruichi rolled her golden eyes before looking back at Urahara. "Have you figured out how you're gonna mask the identity of the Espada?"

"Of course, that's the first thing we decided upon." the shopkeeper replied.

"Good…and what of the girl?"

"She's recovering. The sudden outpouring of her energy overwhelmed her, rendering her unconscious and highly feverish, but she should be fine by morning."

Yoruichi nodded in understanding. "Ok, then I guess everything's all set; I myself am very interested to see just how this is gonna play out."

"That makes all of us." Ichigo said, stretching. "So, I'm assuming we're gonna be spending another Saturday morning at your place, huh?"

"That's correct, so I'd suggest you guys head home and get as much rest as you possibly can." Urahara said, opening his fan. "Tomorrow's gonna be one of the longest days of our lives."

"Tch, don't remind me." Ichigo mumbled as he and others stood up from the table and prepared to head out of the shop.

"I'll be sure to, seeing as it is partially your fault…_again_." Rukia responded, sending an impromptu elbow ramming into the orange-haired boy's ribs, effectively moving him out of the way so that she could exit the shop first.

"Ugh, get the hell over it, Rukia!" Ichigo shouted after the female shinigami as he marched out after her, clutching the left side of his ribcage. "If you screw this up tomorrow I'm gonna _throw_ your ass all the way back to the fucking Seireitei!"

Renji and Orihime stood and watched until the four disappeared around the corner before turning around and going back into the shop.

"Tomorrow's gonna be a tough day, huh?" Orihime murmured.

Renji sighed, scratching his head. "Yep…we'll get through it though. We have to, for all our sakes."

* * *

"You were unable to acquire our guests, I see." Aizen's voice carried over the still atmosphere of his throne room, his eyes now fixated on the green-eyed Espada who now stood before him.

"No, unfortunately I was not." Ulquiorra replied in his usual monotonous voice. "Please forgive my indiscretion."

"No worries, all is forgiven." Aizen replied coolly. "Now, share with me, what was it that brought about this uncharacteristic failure?"

"A rather enormous explosion of unfamiliar spirit energy erupted from a human girl within their group, one in which I'd only sensed minimally spirit energy upon my arrival. This energy effectively erased every hollow that I'd drawn out. Not even the smallest trace of their presence remained. I myself was incapable of fully evading the blast and suffered some injury to my own body…burns, to be more specific."

Aizen leaned forward in his throne and inspected Ulquiorra's damaged uniform. "An explosion of unfamiliar energy, you say? Quite interesting indeed."

"Please, see and judge for yourself." the Cuarta Espada said; he reached up, plucked out his right eye, and crushed it in his palm.

After a minute or so, a slight chuckle echoed through the room. Ulquiorra's attention, as well as that of the two stolen captains flanking the throne, was drawn to Aizen.

"Excellent. That is indeed an extraordinary display of power…yes, very remarkable indeed, unlike anything I've ever seen." the man said as he leaned back in his throne. "With a power as incredible as that, disposing of one's enemies would become mere child's play."

"What would you have me do, my lord?"

The ex-captain ran a hand over his chin. "I simply must have an audience with this girl. I believe her powers would be a great addition to our ranks."

Ulquiorra bowed, understanding Aizen's indirect order. "Very well, I shall add this girl to your list of guests."

Aizen's smile widened. "Very good."

* * *

Takuya's eyes slowly blinked open, and she was immediately greeted with silent darkness of her room. She groaned as she carefully eased herself into a sitting position, glancing around empty space of the room as she did so. Two buckets and a pile of cloth rags sat idly on the right side of her bed, and her sweater vest and socks were folded neatly at the foot of her bed. With a sigh, she brought her hands up to massage her temples in an attempt rub away the headache now plaguing her brain.

"Took you long enough to wake up."

Startled, Takuya turned toward Grimmjow's unmistakable voice. Cerulean eyes stared back at her, set into a bored expression. His arms were folded across his bare and surprisingly unwounded chest. After a second or so, confusion furrowed her brow slightly.

"You…you were wounded…"

"That Inoue girl has a weird ass power…can't even tell the shit was there anymore."

The confusion cleared from her expression then, as she recalled hearing Urahara mention Orihime's healing ability. _Amazing…so that's the extent of her ability…_ she thought, turning to face forward again.

"How long…was I asleep?"

Grimmjow looked at the girl incredulously. "Asleep? Tch, more like K.O'ed…"

Takuya shook her head slightly, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "No, I had to have been asleep...because I had this…this dream…"

_**- FLASHBACK -**_

_Takuya snapped awake and shot straight up into a sitting position at the feeling of something cold nuzzling the sides of her face. Almost immediately her ears were filled with the sound of purring, and seconds later, two tigers came into her slightly blurred line of sight, their sapphire blue eyes gleaming warmly at her._

"_You two again…?" she murmured. "Then…I must be…in a forest again…?"_

_A brisk, icy breeze swept around her, chilling her to her bones and immediately answering her question. Noticing her slight shivering, the tigers moved so that they lay up against her on either side, using their bodies to warm her exposed arms and legs. Takuya smiled at this, grateful for their presence at the moment._

"_Welcome back, Takuya Hokkaido."_

_The ebony-haired girl looked up to see the giant tiger from before approaching her. It sat down about three feet in front of her, its eyes glistening as it examined the girl, who remained silent as she stared back at the creature. After a few seconds, Takuya finally willed herself to speak._

"_Is this…is this that forest from before?"_

"_Yes, this is our home."_

_Why am I back here again?"_

_A smile lit the tiger's glistening eyes, confusing the ebony-haired girl. "My dear child, you never left this place…this is your home as well."_

_Even more confusion racked Takuya's brain at that moment as she tried to process the tiger's words. "My…home...?"_

"_The time for you to learn your true identity is upon us now, and not a moment too soon. The world is in peril once again; the threat of a second war looms on a darkening horizon, one that will require much more strength than the soul guardians possess. The time has come for us to return and lend our strength to the world once again."_

_Takuya stared blankly at the tiger, her confusion at its peak. "…What are you saying?"_

_At that moment, the enormous tiger stood to its feet. "Your true identity…our true identity…is goddess Akiko, the maiden of light. The power once sealed within your body has been released once again after a millennium of dormancy, a true sign that the time to take up arms in defense of the world has come once more."_

_Takuya's eyes widened and a shuddering gasp escaped her lips. Her heart began thundering in her ears as her brain tried in vain to process – and accept – what she'd just been told. She absentmindedly began to shake her head in disbelief._

"_Goddess…A-Akiko…m-…me…?"_

_An overwhelming spell of dizziness washed over her then; unable to sit upright any longer, she fell backwards, landing with a soft thud in the snow. She drifted precariously on the borders of consciousness, the light of the snowy forest slowly disappearing behind the creeping darkness now overtaking her hazed vision…_

_**- END FLASHBACK -**_

"Hey…will you wake the hell up already?"

Takuya's eyes snapped open at the sound of Grimmjow's voice, and she found herself looking up into his face – she'd passed out…again. After a few tense seconds and a mumbled "sorry," she slowly sat herself up. The Espada watched her carefully with an inquisitive glare. Her back faced him again, and her ebony hair curtained off any visibility of her face, almost in an attempt to hide what he'd already seen in her eyes…

Confusion…and unmistakable sadness...

The ebony-haired girl sat there, staring down at her trembling hands, trying to make sense of just how it was that her supposedly normal life had suddenly become anything but normal. In the span of a few hours, she'd seen her face in a history book, discovered power she never knew she had, and abruptly learned that she may not even be human. A knot formed rapidly in her throat as a suddenly looming question, one which she had once been sure of the answer, began to take root in her mind.

…_Who am I?_

Silent tears that she'd fought to hold back fell freely from her eyes now, and her head drooped even more. She'd never been so lost or confused in her life…or at least, what moments of her life she could remember. Despair-fueled pain swelled uncomfortable in her chest, brought on in her attempt to force down sobs that threatened to rack her wearied body at any given moment. Why was this happening? How was it that her entire life had suddenly become a mystery to her…and that the very identity that she persistently refuted was being thrown back into her face? It was all proving to be much more than she could bear…

"Hey…what the hell's wrong with you now, girl?"

Takuya jumped slightly at the sound of the Espada's voice, having almost completely forgotten that he was there. She turned slightly to look back at him, quickly trying to swipe away every shed tear from her face. The action proved to be futile, however, as more tears quickly replaced each one she wiped away. She turned away again few seconds later when she was unable to make her tears stop flowing, a fact that only served to make her cry a little harder then she had been. The last thing she wanted was for anyone – least of all, Grimmjow – to see her this way.

Grimmjow's eyes widened slightly upon seeing this, and an incredulous expression overtook his usual scowl. Tears were literally streaming from the girl's eyes, and an air of hopelessness radiated from her in waves. He mentally cursed at this, the awkward silence of the room suddenly becoming even more uncomfortable at that moment. _Tch…stupid human emotions..._

"I thought I knew…just who I was, but…now…now I'm not so sure…" Takuya spoke between sniffles, her trembling voice only barely audible. "I don't know…who I am…or even…even _what_ I am. I don't know…a-anything…"

Her breath hitched then, and the sobs that she'd barely managed to keep at bay finally found their way to the surface. She wept into her hands, every single one of her pent-up emotions spilling out with her torrent of tears. Only a minute or so had passed since she'd finally broken down when suddenly – and unexpectedly – a strong arm wrapped itself around her shoulders. Her sobs halted almost immediately as she was completely caught off guard by the sudden action, even more so since it was none other than the Espada himself at her side now. Though she could only see the side of his face, she could clearly make out his vaguely annoyed expression.

"G-Grimmjow…"

"Crying isn't gonna solve shit." Grimmjow said flatly; he frowned slightly at the new heat he felt radiating from her. "The only thing it's good for is making your damn temperature shoot up again. It ain't good for shit else…just another useless human emotion. This little revelation you've gotten today, about this power of yours and your true identity and all that other mess, the only thing you can really do with it…is fucking live with it. It's who you are, and it ain't gonna change no matter how much you cry about it."

Takuya stared up at the Espada in absolute shock. _Is he…is he trying to make me feel better?_ She gasped slightly when he moved to reach across her. He grabbed one of the cloth rags that had been piled haphazardly beside her bed and dropped it in her hands. After a slight pause, she lifted it to her face and started wiping away her tears again.

"Besides all that…" Grimmjow's voice drew her eyes back to his face once again, "tears aren't meant for a face like yours."

Takuya's heart skipped a couple beats as her mind registered Grimmjow's last statement; a furious blush heated her cheeks and she immediately looked away so he wouldn't notice. After a minute or two, she found her voice again.

"…Thank you." she murmured as she continued to slowly wipe the remaining tears from her face.

Grimmjow only grunted in reply; he sighed inwardly, running his free hand over his face.

_Tch…damn human world is getting to me…_

* * *

**And that's the end of Chapter Ten! This chapter was pretty interesting to write, and surprisingly easy compared to the others. So, what'd ya think? Feel free to share… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**


	11. Chapter 11

_Hi again, everyone! I hope you all had a spectacular Thanksgiving and got to eat lots of turkey. :D I sure did! Anywho, I'm back again with another update that I hope all of you will enjoy. So without further delay, here is Chapter eleven!_

_A/N: …_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven:**

**No Need to be Nervous**

Saturday morning started off as a dreary day in Karakura. Thick, dark rain clouds hung like weights in the sky, threatening to dump loads of water on the town at any given moment. In the silence of her room, Takuya sat on her bed staring out her window at the dreary sky, a blanket draped over her shoulders and her knees hugged to her chest. She'd been awake for at least an hour now, and had spent that time sorting through the myriad of thoughts currently drifting around in her head. She couldn't recall when she'd fallen asleep last night, nor could she remember when it was that Grimmjow finally left her room. With a soft sigh, she raised her right hand, which was still clutching the rag from last night, to her eye level.

_I must've still been leaning on him when I fell asleep, seeing as I am still in my school uniform._

She sighed again, adjusting the blanket on her shoulders as she prepared to get up from her huddled position on her bed.

_Well, a shower is in order now…_

The sound of her door sliding open drew her attention to the room entrance; a second later, Urahara and Orihime peeped inside, smiles immediately appearing on their faces when they saw the girl.

"Takuya, you're awake!" Orihime cheered, skipping over to the bed and pulling the ebony-haired girl into a quick hug. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm feeling much better." Takuya replied smiling slightly.

"That's excellent to hear." Urahara said, seating himself in front of the two girls. "How long did Grimmjow stay in the room with you yesterday?"

"Umm…it was a little while I guess…" Takuya responded, her eyes going to rag in her hands as she mentally warded off the blush threatening to stain her cheeks pink. "He was there when I came to last night…and when I fell asleep."

"Awww, well that was very nice of him." Orihime said.

"It was indeed." Urahara said, snapping open his fan. "Alright, Takuya, I have a couple things I want to discuss with you. According to Yoruichi, we're going to be receiving a visit from Soul Society today for investigative purposes. This is due to the sudden, enormous surge of your spirit energy on yesterday."

Takuya's eyes widened slightly at the news. "Does this mean that I'm in some kind of trouble with them?"

"No, not at all." Urahara reassured. "Head Captain Yamamoto is interested in it…or in other words, he most likely wants to find out if it's on his side or not."

"To make sure that…I'm not evil or anything…is that it?"

"Essentially. And of course they'll most likely be looking into the massive hollow attack they're sure to assume incurred the explosion of your energy."

Takuya nodded in understanding. "Ok," she said as she finally got to her feet, "I suppose I should go ahead and get myself ready then…"

"Oh…one other thing…" Urahara said. "I should give you a heads-up on the shinigami that will be in charge of the investigation. Her name is Soi Fon, and she's not particularly the cordial type. She may seem intimidating to you, but I assure you, there's no need to be nervous, ok?"

There was a slight pause before the ebony-haired girl nodded again. "…And Grimmjow?"

"It will be so that his identity remains a secret. By the way, when the shinigami do arrive, we are all to refer to him as "Jack"."

"Ok, understood."

"Very good." the shopkeeper said as he and Orihime stood up as well and headed for the room door. "Well then, we'll leave you to get ready. See you in a bit."

* * *

It was a little after 10 a.m. when Ichigo and the others arrived. Urahara met them at the entrance and ushered them all inside.

"So, how's Takuya doing?" Ichigo asked, yawning broadly as he and the others took their places around the table.

"She's doing just fine now, back up and moving as usual." Urahara replied. "The only thing now is that the flow of spirit energy around her hasn't completely diminished itself."

"Is that a bad thing?" Chad asked.

The shopkeeper shook his head. "No, not necessarily…it just means that it's no longer dormant or sealed away."

"Ok then, so what now?" Ichigo asked.

"Well for starters, she has to learn how to defend herself, and to control her power, in the unlikely event that she is caught in a dangerous situation by herself." Tessai said.

"You guys are gonna train her then?"

Urahara snapped open his fan, attempting to hide his sly smile. "Nope, not us." he said, the slightest bit of laughter detectable in his voice.

"Wait, what do you mean "not you?" If you two aren't gonna train her, then who is?" Renji asked almost impatiently.

"We've decided to give this task to Grimmjow as well…"

"WHAT?" Rukia's sudden outburst caused everyone's hearts to miss a few beats. The female shinigami angrily got to her feet. "KISUKE URAHARA HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND?"

The shopkeeper chuckled at this. "Nope I believe it's still all there." he replied. "Besides, he's already spending a good portion of the day with her as it is. Why not dedicate some of that time to training her?"

"Because he's an _Espada_!" Rukia snapped. "It's bad enough that you've charged him with the task of guarding Takuya's life. Now you want to put her in the position where she could end up hurt by her so-called "protector?" Are you even thinking any of this through?"

"I don't think he'd hurt her." Orihime suddenly interjected, drawing everyone's attention. "I honestly feel that he wouldn't do that, not to Takuya anyways."

Rukia stared at the girl in disbelief. "What on earth would cause you to believe that?"

"It's just a gut feeling I have. I mean, if it were any of us, I'm sure he'd just use training as an excuse to use us as punching bags…but I sincerely believe that he wouldn't treat Takuya that way. He'd actually…well…train her."

"Well gut feelings and reality differ greatly nowadays, Orihime." Rukia said impatiently. "And quite frankly, I think you all are giving this guy _way_ too much credit."

"And you're not giving him enough." Urahara said solemnly.

Rukia shot her glare back at the shopkeeper before back down in her spot in front of the table, audibly muttering "I can't believe this" under her breath. Before anything else could be said on the matter, however, said Espada walked into the dining area, clad in his gigai. Only a few seconds later, Takuya appeared as well.

"Good morning everyone." she greeted the group politely.

Everyone responded with a collective "good morning" in response.

"Glad to see you well again." Uryuu added in.

"Thanks. I'm glad to be well again." Takuya said with a smile as she took a seat against the wall next to the hallway entrance; Grimmjow sat a foot or so away from her.

"Any idea when the investigation squad is gonna show up?" Renji asked after a slight moment of silence.

"Not a clue, but I don't think it'll be much longer now." Urahara replied.

"They'll be here soon." Yoruichi's voice drew everyone's attention to the shop entrance where the woman had just stepped in; she took a seat between Urahara and Tessai. "I'd say within the next thirty minutes, give or take."

"So, a whole half hour of just sitting and waiting, huh? Great." Ichigo said semi-sarcastically, releasing an exasperated sigh.

A few mumbles of agreement surfaced in the air before the room went silent. From his spot against the wall, Grimmjow allowed his bored gaze to pass over everyone in the room. Orihime fiddled with the pleats on her skirt. Ichigo, Renji, Chad, and Uryuu mumbled quietly amongst themselves. Rukia sat glaring coldly at nothing in particular, and Hanataro sat staring off into space completely lost in his thoughts, whatever they may have been.

Finally, his eyes came to rest on Takuya. The girl sat quietly, pulling her hair into one long braid. A few strands had managed to escape her grasp, falling into her face; she didn't seem to mind though. She looked different this way, the Espada mentally noted, with all her ebony locks swept away from her back and pulled over one shoulder. It was as if he could see a little bit more of her…her rounded shoulders, bare with the exception of the thin straps of her dark blue shirt, her slender neck, and the tanned skin of her upper back… He blinked then, his eyes suddenly becoming fixated on her back, unsure if he'd actually seen what he thought he'd just saw. A second later he saw it again, a paper thin sliver of silvery light tracing over what appeared to be some sort of kanji unmistakably tattooed down the center of her back. His eyes widened slightly.

_What the hell is that?_

The sound of the entrance door snatching open drew him back to reality as his and everyone else's attention was drawn to the group of shinigami now walking into the dining area.

"Ah, welcome Captain." Urahara said casually. "We were waiting on you to arrive."

"Of course you were." Soi Fon said nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at the shopkeeper as her eyes immediately found her former superior; she greeted the golden-eyed woman with a bow. "Lady Yoruichi, I wasn't expecting to find you here today."

"Yeah, well, I was passing through." Yoruichi responded. "Enough of the pleasantries, though… Why exactly have you come to visit the living world?"

"I am here to investigate the enormous explosion of an incredibly bizarre spirit energy that occurred here in Karakura on yesterday. Head Captain Yamamoto has asked that I identify the source and judge whether or not it will prove helpful or hurtful to the living world and the Soul Society."

Her eyes immediately shifted towards Takuya. "I sense the exact same energy coming from this girl here. Is she the source of that explosion?"

"Technically, yes, she is." Urahara replied.

Soi Fon's eyes narrowed slightly as she turned to fully face Takuya. The ebony-haired girl lifted her gray eyes to meet the captain's semi-glare, her heart suddenly beginning to pound in her chest. _No need to be nervous, no need to be nervous…_

"I don't understand how such power can come from the likes of you." Soi Fon said after a slight pause. "You seem to be nothing more than a lowly human being, average at best."

Takuya took a deep breath, clasping her hands tightly in her lap as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "Are you saying then…that that kind of power couldn't have come from someone like me?"

"I don't see how it could have. Nothing about you suggests that you possess even half the energy we sensed yesterday, save for the meager amount I sense floating about you now."

"…Your statement proves all the more…that looks can be deceiving…"

Soi Fon's brow furrowed, and her eyes narrowed even more. "What was that?"

Takuya lifted her eyes to meet Soi Fon's glare once again. "You're quick to judge, captain. So quick in fact, that you failed to even ask me my name… It's Takuya Hokkaido."

The squad two captain was clearly taken aback by the girl's remarks, but the brief shock didn't last long. Her expression quickly changed to one of annoyance, and her semi-glare became a full glare.

"This so-called power of yours is highly unusual, _Takuya Hokkaido_." she said, her tone a mixture of sarcasm and spite. "It possesses no traits of that of a hollow or even a quincy, and it only _barely_ resembles that of a shinigami. Knowing this, it's become increasingly hard to classify you as anything, even as a simple _human_. So then, _what_ are you exactly, hmmm?"

Takuya felt her heart begin to pound harder in her chest. "I would think it'd be fairly obvious what I am, captain ." she replied as calmly as she could.

"Hah, there is no _human_ in existence with the ability to possess and maintain such energy!" Soi Fon spat.

"That is incorrect. There's Ichigo. He is human, and his spirit energy is also very vast."

"Valid point…" Urahara agreed.

"Silence, Urahara!" Soi Fon snapped, her glare falling on the shopkeeper momentarily before returning to Takuya. "You've got some nerve girl! Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"I don't have to think about that aspect, captain, because I'm pretty sure I know exactly who I am." Takuya said.

By now, Soi Fon's annoyed expression had transformed into an angry one, and her fists were clinched tightly at her sides. "You undisciplined little wretch…"

Takuya gasped inaudibly, slightly caught off guard by the insult; her gaze left Soi Fon's face at that moment and returned to the floor. "…I hardly think this situation calls for insults or arguing..."

"Silence! It is not your place to decide which is or isn't the appropriate time for anything. I am a captain of the Gotei 13, and as such you _will_ show me proper respect as your superior, do you understand?"

Takuya didn't respond, which only served to make Soi Fon even angrier. Acting on impulse, the captain raised her hand to strike the girl.

"I said…do you understand?" she yelled as she brought her hand down at full force.

Her open palm was within inches of its destination when another hand suddenly reached out and latched onto her wrist, stopping it completely. Absolute shock and anxiety overtook her expression as well as everyone else's – except for Grimmjow. His own expression had become one of curiosity, as he was the only one who could see the tattoo on the girl's back and how it slowly beginning to glow, as well as her free arm suddenly wrapping around her stomach as if she were suddenly feeling some kind of pain. The expression she wore also intrigued him; the look in her gray eyes had intensified into a full-on, uncharacteristic glare.

"With all due respect, captain…I'd greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from putting your hands anywhere near my face." Takuya spoke calmly, but her voice was laced with an icy undertone; after a second or so, she released the captain's wrist, and the woman immediately snatched her arm back.

"How dare you, you insubordinate little –"

"I think it'd be better for us both if I were the one doing the talking now." Takuya stated, effectively cutting her off. "You're here to investigate the source of the energy from yesterday, correct? Well, I am the source. Am I a threat to you or anyone else in the living world or in the Soul Society? No, I am not, as I've only been aware of my…power…for less than twenty-four hours, and probably would've never been made aware had it not been for the massive hollow attack on yesterday. Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Soi Fon stared blankly at the ebony-haired girl in a rare moment of speechlessness. The girl's clear gray eyes, though set in her deceivingly calm expression, bore a hardened glare that seemed to pierce her straight to her soul. After a minute of silence, she was finally able to speak again.

"I believe I've obtained sufficient information on this matter. I'll take my leave for now." she said, motioning to her subordinates to rise and follow her out of the shop; she stopped short of exiting, however, and turned to face the girl once more. "Let's be clear on one thing though, I will be watching you and that energy of yours. The instant you display even the smallest amount of threatening behavior to this world or to the Soul Society, I will eliminate you myself."

With that said, she left the shop, and silence ensued once again.

"Well, that went better than we expected it to, didn't it?" Orihime suddenly chimed in an attempt to rid the room of the awkward silence.

"Way better." Renji said, folding his arms. "It didn't take as long either."

"She also didn't suspect Grimmjow…I don't even think she looked his way, which worked out perfectly for us." Uryuu said.

"Yeah, and for once, Rukia actually stayed quiet." Ichigo said, earning him another elbow to the ribs.

"Well, while that part of all this is over, and it did go exceedingly better than we all anticipated it would, the real fun has yet to even begin." Urahara said. "We're under strict watch now, that much has been made clear to us. That means that every step we take in this from here on in has to be taken very carefully. We can't afford to slip up now."

He then turned toward the two sitting against the wall behind him. "Takuya, you handled this very well, as did you, Grimmjow, despite you not having to say or do anything at all."

Takuya nodded and gave a small smile. "I tried to at least." she said quietly.

Urahara smiled in return. "Now, on another note, there's the issue of your training."

"…My training?"

"That's right. With great power comes great responsibility, as well as great risk. You need to learn how to control your spirit energy, and you must also learn how to defend yourself against those enemies who seek to either use your power to fuel their own ill wills or completely snuff it out."

His eyes then shifted to the Espada. "That being said, I've decided to assign this task to Grimmjow as well…that is, unless he's not up to it."

Grimmjow eyed the shopkeeper with an annoyed, borderline-frustrated expression, and forced himself to bite back his protest. "Whatever." he finally muttered.

"Excellent to hear, you can start tomorrow." Urahara said. "Oh, and Ichigo and Renji will be sitting in to assist you, should you need it."

Takuya nodded "ok," and Grimmjow growled, muttering and cursing profusely under his breath at the man's absolute impulsiveness.

At that, the shopkeeper turned to the group around the table once more. "Did you two catch that?' he asked, his question directed at Ichigo and Renji. "You guys are to help out however you are needed to."

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you." Ichigo and Renji said in unison.

As the group began to talk amongst themselves, Takuya slowly rose and quietly slipped out of the dining area, headed for her room. After closing her room door behind her as gently as she could, she then trudged over to her bed and, with a deep sigh, laid down. Her arm wound tighter around her stomach as she did so. The burning feeling she'd felt on yesterday had returned, though not nearly with as much overwhelming force as it had when it first occurred; nonetheless, it was still quite uncomfortable and slightly nerve-racking for this part of her – the part containing several of her vital organs – to suddenly feel like it was catching fire. She released another sigh before draping her free arm over her face and closing her eyes. Maybe if she slept for a little bit, the pain would go away…

The sound of her door opening and closing a minute or so later drew her out of her premature slumber. She didn't bother looking to see who it was, however, because she already knew. The past week had allowed her to become very accustomed to his distinct presence.

"That overheat shit start happening again?" Grimmjow asked, breaking the silence of the room; he leaned against the wall by the door.

Takuya nodded.

"You in pain?"

Takuya hesitated only slightly before shaking her head "no."

"…Are you lying?"

After a few seconds, Takuya nodded again, sighing almost inaudibly. "It doesn't hurt as much as it did the first time it happened though." she said almost too quietly for even him to hear.

Grimmjow's brows furrowed slightly and a slight growl rumbled low in his chest as he walked over to Takuya's bedside and sat down. Then, without much hesitation, he reached out, moved the girl's arm from its draped position over her midsection and put his hand in its place. She flinched at the sudden contact, but still made no effort to look up and see what it was the Espada was doing. After about a minute, he retracted his hand and put her arm back in its place. He then stood to his feet and left of the room without a word.

Only about five minutes passed before the room door opened again, and foot steps approached her bedside a second time. Once again, her arm was lifted away from her midsection; the only difference this time was, instead of a hand, something very cold was put in her arm's place. She slowly looked up, and was slightly surprised to see a small bag filled with what had to been ice wrapped in cloth rags resting on her now. Her gray eyes then shifted over to Grimmjow, who looked back at her momentarily before getting to his feet again.

"That's what that medic kid did last time, so it should work this time, too." he said as he walked back to the door.

"Oh…thank you." Takuya said quietly; she looked back the cloth-covered bag for a second longer before lying back down and yawning. "It's starting to feel better already…"

The Espada glanced back at the girl once more before leaving the room and heading back into the dining area. All eyes were on him as he sat back down in the spot he'd been in prior to leaving out after Takuya. Once he'd settled himself, his eyes snapped up to the group of people now staring at as if they'd never seen him before.

"What the hell're you fucking staring at?" he muttered, annoyed at the unwanted attention.

"Where's Takuya?" Ichigo asked.

"She's resting. Don't bother her." Grimmjow said, warning detectable in his tone.

"And since when did you possess the authority to tell us what to do and what not to do?" Rukia said coldly.

"Since right now, midget bitch."

Rukia immediately got to her feet, her fists clenched 'til her knuckles turned white, glaring venomously at the Espada. "Call me dwarf one more time…call me midget _one more time_…and I will make you wish you'd never met me."

Grimmjow merely looked at Rukia for about five seconds before deciding he was interested in seeing just how the seemingly perpetually angry woman would react.

"Midget dwarf."

The instant those words left his lips, Rukia flew into a frenzy, reacting almost too fast for Ichigo and Renji, who managed to stop the thrashing woman before she actually made it to her target. The Espada, on the other hand, now wore a sadistically amused grin and even started to laugh when he saw her getting even angrier at his amused expression.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO YOU THICKHEADED IDIOTS!" Rukia shrieked as she struggling to free herself from Ichigo's and Renji's holds on her. "I SWEAR WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU IMPUDENT BASTARD!"

"You shouldn't be so fucking loud, shinigami." Grimmjow said his smile still in place. "I told you Takuya's resting, and your little screaming fit is probably disturbing her."

"WELL YOU HAVE NO ONE BUT YOURSELF TO BLAME FOR THAT, _ESPADA_! I SWEAR I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR INSULTING ME! YOU'RE GONNA EAT EVERY LAST ONE OF YOUR DAMN WORDS…!"

At that moment, everyone – except for Rukia – could see and almost feel the atmosphere around the Espada change from vaguely amused to murderous, and it occurred so rapidly that sharp chills were sent traveling up and down their spines. Deciding to take matters into their own hands before Grimmjow decided to act upon his rage, Ichigo and Renji forced Rukia to sit back down.

"Ok, let's all just calm down." Urahara said casually, snapping open his fan. "Grimmjow's actually right; all this commotion is no doubt disturbing Takuya to some degree, and we certainly do not want to be responsible for disrupting her rest. How about we just…talk about something else?"

"Oh, I"ll start." Orihime said; she then turned to face the Espada. "Um, Grimmjow, what's wrong with Takuya?"

Grimmjow glared at the auburn-haired girl for a second before deciding to answer her question. "She was starting to overheat again. Apparently that bitchy shinigami captain was beginning to piss her off, and had she continued her little rant there would've been some serious hell to pay."

"So, in other words, her spirit energy was setting up to make a _second_ appearance, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Looks like." Chad said.

"Interesting…it seems that Takuya's power only releases itself when she's experiencing an intense emotion or in a grave situation." Urahara said. "Perhaps this is because she hasn't learned to control it properly yet."

"So…should I sit in on Takuya's training as well…just for medical assistance?" Orihime asked.

"Of course; Hanataro, you as well."

Hanataro nodded in reluctant understanding.

"There's one other thing…" Uryuu spoke up. "He reached down to the floor beside him, picked up the school history book he'd brought with him, and opened it to page 229. "I think we need to revisit the history lesson from yesterday."

Everyone, including Grimmjow, looked at Uryuu with an inquisitive expression.

"What for?" Ichigo asked. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"More than we would've ever thought, apparently…much more." Uryuu replied as he pushed the book over to Urahara.

The shopkeeper's eyes visibly widened and Yoruichi released a sharp gasp, both equally surprised and slightly unnerved at what they were now looking at.

"What on earth…this picture…" Yoruichi breathed. "Is this…could this be…"

"There's a strong possibility that it very well could be." Uryuu said, pushing his glasses back up the brim of his nose. "And, if it is true, then it would clear up the mystery behind the origin of her unusual spirit energy."

"What are you talking about Uryuu?" Ichigo asked impatiently.

"I'm talking about the possible discovery of Takuya's true identity…the fact that she may actually _be_ the legendary Lady Akiko."

A chorus of shocked gasps filled the air then as everyone tried to grasp what Uryuu had just said. Ichigo glared incredulously at the quincy. "What the hell would lead you to make an impossible conclusion like that? There's no way that's true, it's completely ridiculous!"

"It may not be as ridiculous as you think, Ichigo." Uryuu said coolly. "Besides that, I'm not the only one who believes that this may indeed be the truth."

His eye then shifted pass the group around the table, and over to the Espada, who was now glaring directly back at him as if daring him to say what he was about to say.

"You believe it, too…don't you, Grimmjow?"

* * *

**And there you have it, folks, the end of chapter eleven! Feel free to share your thoughts! ALL opinions are welcome… See ya soon! :D**

**xLSx**


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello again, everyone! I trust you all had a very Merry Christmas. I most certainly did. Anywho, I'm back with another update to my story that I actually intended to have posted prior to Christmas (I apologize .). I really hope you enjoy it!_

_A/N: …_

* * *

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Solving the Mystery**

Silence fell over the room once again at the sudden revelation, and all eyes were pinned to the Espada a second time, much to his great annoyance. Growling slightly, he shifted his glare straight ahead at nothing in particular.

"I don't just believe, quincy. I fucking know it for a fact." he spoke after a slight pause. "And, to a certain extent…she knows it, too."

Another chorus of gasps surfaced among the group.

"You sound so sure about that." Uryuu commented. "How, then, do you know this, and what makes you so sure that she herself knows it as well?"

Grimmjow pointedly narrowed his eyes at the quincy. "For someone who's supposedly so damn smart, you sure don't pay too much attention to the obvious."

Uryuu, somewhat offended by the comment, opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Grimmjow began to speak again.

"First off, there's the fact that she remembers literally nothing about herself save for her name – not where she's from, or if she's ever attended school before now, or even how old she is. Then there's her power. That explosion of her energy yesterday is the near picture-perfect example of one of that woman's attacks described in that book."

"_Esfer__a Azul Etéreo_, or "Ethereal Blue Sphere," classified as Lady Akiko's ultimate final attack due to its enormous size and raw power." Urahara read aloud. "It's an epic surge of pure energy, blue in color, with the sole purpose of eliminating all enemies so completely that no trace of their presence is seen or even felt by the attack's end. It is said that it has only been seen once, when it marked the end the war against the hollowed demons invading the living world, and that it spanned a distance of at least ten to fifteen miles in diameter."

"Unreal…" Ichigo said. "Ten to fifteen _miles_?"

"That attack yesterday barely broke one mile, and it was still huge." Renji said. "You're saying that it can get bigger than that?"

"It would seem so…" Urahara said.

"Be that as it may, that fact only sheds light on _your_ certainty, Grimmjow." Uryuu said. "How is it that Takuya herself became aware of this?"

There was a short pause before the Espada spoke again. "I'm not gonna tell you that."

"Don't hold out on us, Grimmjow. How does she know?"

"The only thing that you need to know is that she knows."

"That's not an answer. If you're not going to tell us anything, then how do you expect us to believe she knows at all?"

Grimmjow's blank expression suddenly changed to a critically annoyed one. "I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not. It doesn't change shit, she still knows."

"If she truly knows, then what's the problem with telling how she discovered it then?" Uryuu argued.

"It's not for me to fucking tell!" Grimmjow retorted venomously. "She found out on her own, so she's the one who should say how she discovered it."

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Uryuu adjusted his glasses. "Well then, I supposed we'll have to –"

The Espada growled, abruptly cutting the quincy off. "This gives you no excuse to go bitching to her about it either. Yeah, she found out…but she's not too particularly thrilled about it. When she wants to tell you about it, she will, when _she's_ ready, not you."

Uryuu stared at Grimmjow for a second or so longer before deciding it was in his best interest not to prolong the debate. "Fine, I guess we'll just have to take your word for it…for now."

"Tch…like you had a choice to begin with." Grimmjow muttered, leaning back against the wall once again.

After a slight moment of silence, Urahara stood up. "Well, since we've already had our visit from Soi Fon, I think we've done all that we need to do for the day. No need for you to hang around here any longer; you have the rest of the day to yourselves now. Just remember, Ichigo, that you have to be back here tomorrow for Takuya's training."

"Right." Ichigo said as he and the others stood up from the table as well.

"I think I'll come back for that training as well." Rukia commented. "You guys might end up needing help before you even get started good…"

"No." Ichigo and Renji said flatly.

"No way in hell." Grimmjow said, almost snarling.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Rukia." Urahara replied.

"Why not?" Rukia protested.

A few seconds passed and there was no response. Rukia, clearly offended, then turned on her heels and marched out of the shop, huffing. Shaking his head slightly, Ichigo walked out after her, Uryuu and Chad right behind him. Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai followed the group out of the shop and watched them until they disappeared from the lot.

"Well, today was…interesting, to say the least." Urahara said as he sat down on the shop's small porch; Yoruichi and Tessai followed suit.

"Hmmm, I'm not sure if "interesting" is sufficient enough to describe anything that goes on around here anymore." Yoruichi said.

The shopkeeper chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that."

"Have either of you noticed that Grimmjow seems to be becoming more protective of Takuya?" Tessai asked.

"I have." Yoruichi commented, looking over to Urahara. "Man, it's only been a little over a week, hasn't it? I think that "understanding" you said they have is already starting to grow into more than just that."

"You could be right." Urahara said, adjusting his hat.

"Heh, I _could_ be right, Kisuke? Ok then, what do you think of it?"

"Well, it's not necessarily a bad thing…in fact it's actually a good thing. That understanding is gonna need to strengthen quite a bit for them to accomplish anything in Takuya's training."

Yoruichi and Tessai silently agreed with the shopkeeper, both of them directing their own attention to the sky and losing themselves in their stray thoughts.

* * *

Back inside the shop, Renji, Orihime, Hanataro, and Grimmjow sat silently in the dining area for a few more minutes until Renji finally stood up from his spot at the table.

"Well, if we're finished for the day, I'm gonna go catch a few more Z's." he said with a broad yawn as he headed for the hallway.

"That isn't a bad idea." Hanataro agreed, standing up as well. "It's been so hard to catch up on sleep around here; I guess now's a better opportunity than any to catch up on a little rest."

"You guys have a good nap." Orihime called after the two as they disappeared into the hallway, headed for their own rooms.

Then, with a small sigh, she turned to face the Espada once again. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. "Umm…Grimmjow…?"

"What is it?"

The auburn-haired girl shifted slightly in her seated position and wrung her hands. "Well…I know you probably don't want to be asked this but…"

"If you know that I don't want to be asked, then why the hell are you still asking?"

"I just…well…can you…can you tell me…how Takuya discovered that she may be Akiko?"

It was then that the Espada turned his cerulean glare on the girl; his eyes narrowed, and she visibly flinched.

"I'm really sorry; I just really want to know. I swear I'm not asking on anyone else's behalf…and I promise that I won't bother Takuya about it unless she decides to tell me. And I won't tell anyone else."

Grimmjow stared at Orihime for a minute or so, searching for even the slightest bit of deception in her expression and in her eyes. When he found none, he spoke again.

"The tigers from that picture in the history book…she's seen them before. They appeared to her in a dream, along with a third, larger tiger who identified itself as her true nature. She'd had this dream the night prior to the day she received a certain gift from you, she says."

"The tiger pendants I gave her…" Orihime murmured, her mind immediately going back to that Saturday morning. "So that's why she had that reaction when I gave them to her…"

"What reaction?"

"She'd look as if…as if she'd seen them before, and seeing the pendants startled her a little bit or something."

Grimmjow thought about this momentarily before continuing where he'd left off. "Then on yesterday, at some point in time after the incident had already taken place, Takuya's unconsciousness became actual sleep, and she another dream in which she saw the tigers again. Only this time, she said that the tiger informed her that her true identity was goddess Akiko, and that the power she released was a sign that the world was in peril again."

Orihime gasped, her hand coming up over her mouth. "So then…it must really be true… That means that those weren't mere dreams that Takuya was having, they were messages…"

"So it would seem; but, this discovery didn't exactly make her jump for joy." Grimmjow said. "In fact it did the complete opposite…it confused her, and upset her to the point of tears."

Orihime felt her heart sink a little at that. "…But, why?"

"Tch, the hell do you mean "why?" Since when does thinking you're this for so long and then suddenly finding out that you're really that make anyone happy? For as long as she could remember – however long that is – Takuya believed that she was a normal human being. Now, suddenly, she's learning that everything about her existence, even her name, may be something totally fucking different from what she believed it was for so long."

"…You're right…that's a lot to deal with in such a short span of time…" Orihime said quietly; she then turned to look at Grimmjow once again. "Thank you for telling me. I swear this will never leave my lips."

The Espada frowned at the auburn-haired girl. "It had better not…for your sake." he said, warning evident in his tone.

At that, Orihime got up and left the dining area for her own room, leaving the Espada to his thoughts in the now silent room. His mind returned to the tattoo he'd seen on the ebony-haired girl's back. He frowned subconsciously as he began to ponder what it was.

_What the hell was that anyway? Was it always there? Tch, it's a possibility. Before today, either her hair or the shirts she wore would always cover up her back. Could've very well been covering that up, too… Then again, it could've appeared yesterday, when her powers were released…maybe as a sign that her body's transforming… Shit it could be any number of things…_

With an exasperated sigh, he rose to his own feet and trekked back to his own room. As he walked by Takuya's room, he was suddenly reminded of his agreement to start training the girl the next day. He rolled his eyes and growled.

"Damn…" he muttered as he trudged into his room and slammed the door closed behind him.

* * *

A seemingly endless downpour fell upon Karakura the next morning, soaking the town in a steady onslaught of ice cold rain. The chill of the falling water was amplified by an equally cold wind that blew the torrents in every direction. Takuya sat in silence against the wall next to her bed, listening to the rain as it continuously battered the outer walls of the shop, her half-lidded gray eyes staring aimlessly into the dreary dimness of her room.

"…_You are the only one among them who can say you needn't fear me…"_

A deep sigh escaped the ebony-haired girl as Grimmjow's words replayed in her head for what seemed like the millionth time. She'd remembered them as if he'd just said them yesterday. They were the very words that had given her peace of mind and granted her a full night's rest during a time when nightmares would have endlessly plagued her subconscious mind. They were the very words that made her feel almost completely at ease around him, no matter how intimidating he truly was…

_So then…why? Why have I become…so nervous…?_

She didn't understand it, the nervous anxiety that had suddenly gripped her entire being and refused to let go. Was it because of her impending training…her having to face the Espada in some sort of mock combat? Was it her nervousness about having to be put through any form of combat that brought it about? Her brows furrowed slightly; neither of those were the reason for this seemingly irrational discomfort. She welcomed the idea of training, to finally learn how to defend herself so that she wouldn't be such a burden on Grimmjow and the others. And sure, she was nervous about having to duel seasoned warriors, but that alone wouldn't be enough to stop her. She knew they wouldn't hurt her…not unbearably so, anyway. Another deep sigh whispered pass her lips as she slowly rose to her feet.

"Whatever the reason may be…now isn't the time to fret about it. I'm sure it will pass once I get started…"

Successfully managing to push her inner turmoil to the back recesses of her mind, she squared her shoulders and headed out of her room toward the dining area, where she was immediately greeted by Urahara and Orihime.

"Good morning, Takuya. We've been waiting for you." Urahara said casually. "So, are you ready?"

"Yes, as ready as I possibly can be." the ebony-haired girl replied.

"Good. Let's get going then." the shopkeeper said as he and Orihime stood up from the table. "Right this way."

The three walked through the kitchen area, and toward the back door of the shop.

"Here we are." Urahara said as the three stopped in front of a moderately-sized, square-shaped door in the floor.

Without pause, he reached down and grabbed the thick metal ring attached to the door and pulled it open, revealing a ladder leading down into a dark tunnel. Confusion crept into Takuya's expression as her eyes found the shopkeeper again; however, before she could open her mouth to ask anything, she found herself being pulled to his side.

"It's kind of a long way down, so we're gonna descend another way." the shopkeeper stated; he then looked over to Orihime. "You may go first."

The auburn-haired girl nodded, and, after giving Takuya a quick smile, proceeded to jump down the tunnel. The ebony-haired girl's eye widened at the sudden action, and her gaze slowly shifted to the shopkeeper currently holding her against his side.

"Don't worry; it's not that bad of a drop, I promise." the man reassured her. "Ok…ready?"

"…As ready as I possibly can be…" Takuya said shakily.

With that, the two followed Orihime's lead and jumped into the tunnel. Above them, the door slammed shut, sealing off the tunnel's entrance. After about ten seconds of complete darkness, the two had finally cleared the tunnel, and visibility was restored. Takuya gasped sharply, almost completely astounded at what she was now seeing. There was rocky terrain for as far as the eye could see and above them now was a blue sky dotted here and there with puffy white clouds.

"What on earth…?" she breathed. "Where…where is this?"

"This, my dear girl, is a battle training ground that I created so that warriors, such as the shinigami, could train here in the living world without having to hold back the full extent of their powers. And, since there's going to be some serious energetic exchanges occurring down here, I've also added seki seki stone in a few key places to prevent anyone or anything from detecting the activities taking place here. Quite impressive, isn't it?"

"Very…I've never seen anything like it before." Takuya commented. "It's like…it's like a whole other world…underground."

After about a minute, the two finally landed on the ground with a soft thud. Safely on her own two feet again, Takuya examined the enormous expanse of the training ground a bit further. Large rock formations and plateaus dotted the vast horizon, giving the training ground the artificial appearance of a desert – minus the dry, scorching heat. The strikingly placid, sunless blue sky above them was also artificial, she discovered after looking up at it a second time.

"How on earth did he manage to create…all this?"

"Hey…" Grimmjow's voice startled the girl, as she hadn't noticed his sudden appearance at her side. "You gonna stand there and stare all damn day or are we actually gonna start this training shit?"

Takuya looked over at the Espada momentarily before looking away again, pushing a few strands of her hair back behind her ears.

"I suppose we should start now." she replied. "There is a lot that I need to learn…"

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Tch, you technically don't need to "learn" anything." he said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he proceeded to walk further into the training ground.

Takuya followed after him, a puzzled expression on her face. "What do you mean by that?"

The Espada sighed and ground his teeth in thought. He hated having to think about his answers, but, in the same respect, the girl didn't particularly like to be reminded that she wasn't exactly human. He rolled his eyes and barely managed to suppress a frustrated growl.

_Ugh…why do I even fucking CARE…?_

"Grimmjow…?"

Takuya's voice drew the Espada out of his thoughts and halted his steady pace. He turned to see her staring back at him, the question still lingering in her eyes. With another, more exasperated sigh, he opened his mouth to answer – only to be cut off by the sound of the orange-haired shinigami's sudden bellowing.

"What the hell are you doing here? Didn't we make it clear that you weren't supposed to come?" Ichigo yelled, his voice echoing across the grounds, drawing both Grimmjow's and Takuya's attention over to where Ichigo stood with Renji, Urahara, Tessai, Orihime, and Hanataro, all of whom now appeared to be surrounding someone.

"Yeah, well I don't care what you say! I refuse to be excluded from Takuya's training, especially considering who her "trainer" is!" Rukia's voice rang out, echoing as loudly as Ichigo's had.

A growl rippled through the Grimmjow's chest at the sound of the female shinigami's voice, drawing Takuya's attention back to the Espada. Before she could ask why it was that everyone was becoming upset with Rukia's appearance, he began trekking back toward were the group stood bickering, his hands clenching into tight fists in his pockets. Hesitating only slightly, she followed behind him, curious as to know what exactly was going on.

"Rukia, you're putting things a bit too harshly when you accuse us of excluding you." Urahara tried to reason. "It's just that we know how you feel about all this, and we'd figured you'd…well…hinder Takuya's training process…slightly."

"_I'd_ _hinder it_?" Rukia yelled. "What on earth makes you believe that I'd be a hindrance? My only concern is you intentionally letting that…_Espada_ train Takuya to do…anything!"

"That's just it! You can't seem to even try to agree with that, which makes you a fucking nuisance!" Ichigo shot back. "The longer you stay here, the more annoyed everyone's gonna get of your constant complaining! Now would you just go home?"

"I refuse! I will not be excluded from this! If even Orihime can come (no offense, of course) then so can I!"

"But Orihime isn't always trying to pick fights with Grimmjow every chance she gets, unlike you! Now leave!"

"NO!"

"LEAVE, NOW!"

"Let her stay."

The sudden interjection of Grimmjow's voice drew the group's attention to the Espada as he and Takuya approached them. Ichigo looked at him as if he'd grown two extra heads.

"Wait a minute…what the hell's gotten into you? I seem to remember hearing you disagree to the notion of having Rukia down here while you trained Takuya…and now all the sudden you want her to stay?"

Grimmjow glared at the orange-haired boy. "Shut it, Kurosaki. Hell no, I don't want the midget bitch to stay…but, if she's gonna fucking insist on not leaving, she might as well make herself useful."

Ichigo traded glances with Urahara and Renji before looking back at Grimmjow. "Make herself useful how?"

"She said she wants to be part of Takuya's training, right? Well then, I'm going to make her part of it."

He then shifted his glare over to Rukia. "Takuya needs a warm-up match…and you're gonna be her opponent."

Rukia's eyes widened as her brain attempted to register the "task" that was just given to her. After a second or so, she looked back over at the Espada. His glare was still pinned on her, as if daring her to decline after all her incessant arguing about being made to leave.

"Fine, I accept this…task." she finally said. "But, keep in mind that fact that _you're_ the one who initiated this. I am not responsible for the outcome of this fight, no matter what it may be."

"Heh, you make it sound as if you're automatically gonna win, shinigami." Grimmjow said, a sadistic grin slowly curving his lips. "Fact of the matter is, I wouldn't have initiated this if I didn't think that the complete opposite would happen."

Rukia, as well as the rest of the group, gaped in shock at the Espada's last comment. Grimmjow laughed at their reaction before turning towards Takuya, who stood quietly – and paling – behind him, and grabbed her by her wrist.

"I'll give you an hour to prepare yourself." he said, glancing back at Rukia only briefly before he sonido'ed away with Takuya in tow.

They landed about a half a mile away from the group, near one of the rock formations Takuya had seen coming in with Urahara. Satisfied with the distance he'd put between them, Grimmjow then turned back to the ebony-haired girl, who was now sitting against one of the huge rocks with a look on her face that was nothing short of borderline fear. She didn't look up at him, and rather had her trembling gaze fixed in the direction of the group they'd just left behind. The Espada's brows furrowed slightly, and a growl rumbled low in his chest.

"What the hell are you looking so nervous about?" he asked after a moment's paused.

Takuya's gaze the group at the sound of his voice, but it only transferred to her hands resting in her lap. "I believe…that your confidence in me may be overestimated. I've only just learned of my power…and…and Rukia's been a shinigami for a long time, no matter how her own power compares to anyone else's. I don't think I have the skills to beat her…even if I tried really hard."

"Tch, like hell you don't." Grimmjow said, folding his arms across his chest. "That bitchy dwarf doesn't stand half a chance against you."

"…I wish I could believe that as much as you seem to…"

Grimmjow watched the girl for a minute longer before shifting his gaze toward nothing in particular, and deciding that now would be the best time to answer her earlier question. "You asked me what I meant by saying that you didn't need to learn anything. Well the answer to that is simple. Whether you care to remember it or not, you were once a warrior…a really fucking good one if that history book is any indication. So, technically, you already have the skills you need to win. All you really need to do is get reacquainted with them – meaning you really don't have shit to learn."

Takuya's looked up at Grimmjow then, a small gasp escaping her. "So…you really believe I could win?"

Grimmjow, unbeknownst to the girl, rolled his eyes again before looking back at her again. "Yeah, I do."

At that moment, Takuya rose to her feet, and the nervousness in her expression was replaced with a hopeful smile. "Ok…then I will do my best not to let you down."

* * *

**Another chapter down the hatch, lol! So, did ya like it? Hate it? Feel free to share. ALL opinions welcome! Thanks for reading! :D**

**xLSx**


	13. Chapter 13

_Hello again, everyone. I'm so, soooooo sorry for making you guys wait so long. We'd gotten hit pretty hard by a two winter storms, and during the second one I actually got really sick. I was totally held up from doing any and everything for quite a while, including working on my stories (failure T_T). But, I'm finally back with an update that I hope you will really enjoy! :D Here's Chapter thirteen!_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach…Tite Kubo's fight scenes are wayyyy better than mine…_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**Your Smile**

_I can do this…_

It was this simple phrase that replayed itself continuously in Takuya's head like a mantra, acting as a means by which she quelled the anxiety attempting to surface within her being. Her eyes were closed at the moment and her arms hung loosely at her sides, her fists clenching and unclenching with every breath she took. She mentally reviewed the short lesson she had received from Grimmjow in the hour they'd had prior to her "warm-up match," as he'd called it. In that short span of time, he'd taught her the essentials of hand-to-hand combat – a proper fighting stance that left the least amount of openings to vital areas, punches and kicks that could be modified for effectiveness during battle, effective blocking and dodging, as well as effective countering and pacing. She performed every move he'd taught her with a near flawless ease, as if she'd been doing them all her life. It'd startled her slightly, to say the least, and had mounted upon the Espada's already skyrocketing confidence in her victory over Rukia. She'd never seen him smile as much as he did during their short training period, and, despite knowing that that smile were rooted in his anticipation of seeing Rukia lose to a "beginner" (of sorts), she felt as though it was her duty to keep it from fading. A ghost of a smile passed over her own expression then as a new determination suddenly began welling up inside her, completely pushing away any nervousness that had been attempting to take root in her heart. She could do this…and she _would_ win.

She opened her eyes then, and her gaze immediately fell upon Rukia, who stood about twenty-five feet away from her. Her arms were casually folded across her chest, and she wore a slightly smug expression.

"Are you ready now?" she asked.

The ebony-haired girl took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes…I am."

"Alright ladies," Urahara's semi-distant voice drew their attention to the shopkeeper, "feel free to start whenever you're ready to."

Both females nodded in understanding before their gazes fell upon each other once again.

"For your sake, I'll take it easy…and I won't even use my zanpakutou." Rukia stated pointedly as she dropped into her fighting stance, the slightest bit of arrogance in her voice.

"Please, do not feel that you have to limit yourself on my behalf." Takuya replied as she slid into her own fighting stance. "If I don't fight you at your best, then you would essentially be letting me win…and that would not be fair."

Rukia laughed bitterly at the girl's comment. "Having _me_ as your very first opponent is not fair, because I can guarantee that there is no way in hell that I'd ever let a _rookie_ beat me - UMPH!"

The words only barely had time to leave the shinigami's lips before a fist connected harshly with the left side of her face, causing her to stumble backwards and fall to one knee. Only a second later, a foot connected with her back, sending her face-first to the ground.

"You wish to fight and win in a battle against a rookie?" Takuya's voice echoed over her head as she pulled herself off of the ground. "Well then…I suggest you go and find a rookie to fight."

Rukia hurriedly rose to her feet, clearly frustrated about being one-upped so early in the match. Not wasting any time she retaliated, throwing a continuous barrage of punches and kicks at the girl as fast and as hard as she could. Her frustration quickly began to mount a few minutes in, however, when she realized that she had only been able to successfully land about four legitimate blows before every one of her attacks were either stopped by a block or avoided by a dodge.

_Ugh…I'm getting absolutely nowhere. How is this possible? This girl is supposed to be a rookie!_

Thinking fast, Rukia resorted to shunpo in hopes of catching Takuya completely off guard. She flashed behind the girl without any given warning and immediately began her assault again with a kick set to connect squarely with the girl's face. She grunted angrily when her initial attack failed as Takuya, apparently thinking just as fast as she was, caught the kick before it reached its destination and began to counter her every strike once again. After a minute or so the tables were completely turned, much to the shinigami's great surprise, as the ebony-haired girl had finally managed to outmaneuver her and go completely on the offensive, dealing rapid-fire blows that repeatedly found their way pass her defenses and hit their marks.

Rukia was suddenly finding it almost difficult to maintain her ground against Takuya. Her speed and fluidity seemed to be increasing with every advance she made, as was the power behind her punches and kicks. It frustrated the shinigami to no end.

_This can't be happening! There's no way that I could actually be…**losing**…to this girl! I guess it's time to pull out all the stops!_

Sacrificing her guard for a split second, she quickly reached down and unsheathed her zanpakutou, drawing it just in time to stop yet another punch headed straight for her gut. Seeing the drawn weapon, Takuya hopped back a couple steps, eying the blade. The sudden sound of an almost mocking laughter drew her attention back to the wielder.

"It was _your_ desire that I not hold back for your benefit, was it not?" Rukia said, speaking louder than necessary. "Humph, well you'll soon wish that I was, once you've had a chance to properly meet my blade…"

Without a second's pause, the shinigami immediately proceeded to attack once again, her blade swinging almost wildly in an attempt to land a cutting blow on Takuya's flesh. The ebony-haired girl artfully dodged her swings, however, as they came at a noticeably slower speed than her previous attacks had. Her frustration at its peak, Rukia shunpo'ed again, appearing behind Takuya a second time. Then, with all the force she could muster, she brought her blade down with every intention of slicing through the girl's shoulder. Her attack was halted, however, when Takuya reached around and instinctively caught the blade of the zanpakutou in her bare hands before it connected with her shoulder.

"Oh no, you are NOT getting the chance to thwart me again!" Rukia declared angrily.

With one swift tug, she yanked the blade out of Takuya's grasp. The girl yelped as a new pain consumed her hands, both of which now bearing slice wounds that ran from the base of her thumbs to the outsides of her palms. In no time at all, thick red blood began to ooze from the wounds and drip to the ground below.

"Dance," she looked up toward the sound of Rukia's voice, "_Sode no Shirayuki_!"

Takuya gasped as she watched the zanpakutou turn a pure, snowy white before her eyes; a long white ribbon flowed gracefully from a hollow, snowflake-like sphere attached to its pommel, and tiny flakes of snow danced around the entirety of the weapon.

"I'll end this quickly…" Rukia muttered, backing into her fighting stance once again.

"Rukia, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo's voice carried from the spot across the field where he and the others stood watching the showdown. "This is a warm-up match, not a blood battle!"

"Tsugi no mai…"

"Rukia, DON'T!"

"…Hakuren!"

At that moment, a massive, pure-white wave of ice shot from _Sode no Shirayuki's_ blade and barreled toward a stunned Takuya at an incredibly high rate of speed. Within seconds, and even before she'd realized what was happening, the girl was encased in a huge block of ice.

Frozen silence overtook the atmosphere then. With a slight harrumph, Rukia sheathed her weapon and looked over her handy work momentarily before proceeding to walk back toward the rest of the group.

"Sorry, Takuya, but you couldn't possibly have hoped to beat me on the first try." she declared, smirking. "You are skilled, no doubt about that; but you still have a whole lot of learning to do."

She then looked toward Grimmjow, readily expecting him to be looking disappointed and murderous at her victory; what she saw, however, made her stop in her tracks. Not only was the Espada _not_ looking murderous, but his gaze was unshakably fixated on the gargantuan block of ice she created, and he was actually…_smiling_. A frown quickly replaced the smirk she'd been wearing.

_What the hell is he grinning about…?_

"You are right, Rukia. I do still have a lot to learn…"

A shuddering gasp escaped the shinigami's lips, and she spun around towards the direction of the voice. Her blood froze in her veins when her eyes came to rest on none other that Takuya, who now stood alongside block of ice, an eerily calm expression on her face; the blood that had once stained her hands had all but disappeared as her wounds had been frozen shut by the ice.

"…H-how…?" she forced out, her legs suddenly shaking beneath her.

Without a single word, the ebony-haired girl raised her left hand and laid it on the ice block. Almost immediately it began to glow with an ethereal blue light, and slowly but surely, it began to change shape. Rukia watched in speechless shock as the ice steadily condensed and reshaped itself, moving faster and faster until it had finally shrunken down into a singular, elongated object; her jaw dropped when she realized just what it was that the girl was now holding in her hand… It was a replica of _Sode no Shirayuki_!

"…Im-impossible…there's absolutely no way you could…th-that's impossible…!"

"Not quite." Takuya replied. "You see, despite still having a long way yet to go, this duel of ours has already taught me a great deal…about me…and about you…"

Shocked gasps echoed through the air as she outstretched her arm, bringing the icy sword to her eye level. As she did so, the blue light surrounding the frozen blade began to pulsate and shine even brighter.

"Tsugi no mai…Hakuren…"

Rukia's piercing scream was silenced by the roar of the enormous ice wave, and within mere seconds, she'd become imprisoned within very same ice she'd unleashed upon Takuya. Within seconds, she'd fallen victim to her very own attack…cast by a ghost of her very own zanpakutou.

Silence ensued once again as Takuya brought her now empty hand back down to her side. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the suddenly wintery air of the training ground, the chill of it temporarily soothing her warmer than usual body. A feeling of accomplishment washed over her as she exhaled, and a small smile curved her lips as her gaze fell upon the new block of ice before her.

"I did it…" The reality of that quiet declaration broadened her smile ever so slightly and caused her heart to race with pure joy.

"Epic win."

Takuya felt her smile broaden a little more at the sound of Grimmjow's voice; she looked up at him when he appeared at her side, and smiled even more when she saw the shadow of a smile still on his face. After a second or so, her gaze went back to the block of ice, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"I kept my word, and I managed not to let you down." she said. "Do you want to know what my motivation was?"

Grimmjow's cerulean eyes found the girl as she began to move forward, slowly making her way to the giant ice block until she was within arm's length of it.

"It was the simplest of things," she started speaking again after a slight pause, "and I'm fairly sure that you'll think that it's really stupid but…my motivation was…your smile…"

The Espada glared incredulously at Takuya. Did he…did he hear that right? His question was immediately answered when the girl looked back at him for a second or two, giggling at his reaction to her comment before turning back toward the ice. His glare intensified then, and he suddenly found himself not knowing whether he should be completely disgusted, shocked to hell, or unexplainably angry. _This girl has fucking lost it..!_

"Heh…I knew you'd think it was stupid…" Takuya said quietly as she reached out and touched the ice block with her right hand.

It was shattered into microscopic pieces almost instantly under her touch, revealing Rukia, who immediately sank to the ground in a shivering, sputtering heap. About five seconds later, Orihime and Hanataro appeared and began assisting the woman as best they could, getting her to her feet and walking her off of the temporary battleground. The ebony-haired girl watched them for a few more seconds before releasing another deep sigh and turning to face Grimmjow once again. His disbelieving glare had been replaced by an irritated scowl, and his gaze was still pinned on her as if his mind was still painfully trying to register what she'd said to him. After a minute or so, he turned so that his back was facing her, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"That match counts as your training for today…let's get the hell outta here." he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at her briefly as he proceeded to walk away.

Takuya smiled at the Grimmjow's retreating from; she shook her head as mild uncertainty began to creep into her mind.

_Oh dear…perhaps I shouldn't have told him…_

With a final sigh, she finally moved to follow after the Espada, who was already a short ways ahead of her. She'd only taken about seven steps, however, when a spell of dizziness descended upon her, accompanied by a sudden wave of heat that emanated from her midsection and quickly enveloped her entire body. She staggered, rapidly becoming disoriented by the sudden change in her condition. As she fought to keep her bearings, she looked up towards Grimmjow, and opened her mouth with the intent of calling out to him.

And then everything went black.

* * *

"So where do we start looking?"

Ulquiorra didn't respond to the posed question, and rather stretched out his senses and began his search for his allotted targets.

"Man I don't even sense that Kurosaki kid. You sense anything yet, Ulquiorra?"

"Perhaps if you'd close your mouth and expand your senses, you may succeed in finding the targets…Yammy." Ulquiorra said, his tone even colder than usual – if that was even possible.

Though his stoic expression betrayed nothing, the green-eyed Espada was categorically annoyed by the presence of his gigantic comrade. He was a klutz above all else, having almost gotten himself killed during their first visit to the living world. And now, somehow, they had been paired up again, and the likelihood of their successful completion of their assigned mission was already looking bleaker than ever.

"Argh, this is taking way longer than it should be…and this rain is getting to be a pain in the ass." Yammy grumbled, wiping rain water away from his eyes with the back of his hand. "Oh…hey, I got an idea. I bet if we start destroying stuff, we'll draw them all right out. C'mon let's give it a try."

The Diez Espada had only barely managed to get a foot into the air when a hand reached out, clamped onto his wrist, and yanked him back down onto the roof he'd just been standing on. He'd been pulled down with so much force that the entire building shook upon contact. Slightly disoriented, he looked up toward his fellow Espada with the intention of asking him what his problem was, but was instead met with a foot planted firmly on his large neck."

"…U-Ulquiorra…w-what are you…?"

"Listen carefully, you blundering fool. This mission is of the uttermost importance, as the manner of its completion will determine the outcome of quite a number of events that will inevitably be taking place in the near future. Should we succeed, Lord Aizen will possess enough power to easily overcome the Soul Society and the world of the living with incredible ease, thus making the accomplishment of his ambitions mere child's play. Should we fail, our enemies will continue to possess the unfathomable amount of strength they've suddenly acquired, all that our lord has worked to accomplish will be lost, and Hueco Mundo will be dealt a blow from which it may never recover. Therefore, failure is _not_ an option, which in turn means there is no room for you rudimentary mistakes. In light of this, if you continue to jeopardize the success of this mission more than you already have with your…gargantuan size, I will kill you in the must inhumane way possible. Do you understand…Yammy?"

The larger Espada immediately nodded as best he could, fully aware of the truth behind Ulquiorra's words. The foot was then removed from his neck, and he stood to his feet again.

"Now, let us continue our search."

"Yes…o-of course…" Yammy said. He then outstretched his senses and restarted his search for their targets in silence.

* * *

A dry groan escaped Takuya's throat as her eyes slowly blinked open. She found herself once again in the dimness of her room, surrounded by the sound of unrelenting rain as it continuously battered the shop. Her body was somewhat sore, and her head swam with a slight dizziness that refused to let up.

"…What happened?" she thought out loud.

"You blacked out." Grimmjow's voice drew her attention to the right of her, where the Espada sat against the wall by her bed. "You've been unconscious for about an hour."

Takuya's brow furrowed slightly at that, and after a few seconds she turned her gaze to the ceiling. "Why…? What happened to me?"

"Tch, hell if I know; but the shopkeeper seems to think that it may have something to do with the weird ass way you used of your spirit energy."

"…"

Grimmjow shifted his glare to the girl then. "How the hell did you do that?"

"…I…I don't know. I honestly…don't know." Takuya murmured, her mind drifting back to her match with Rukia, a soft sigh whispering pass her lips.

A long moment of silence passed between them then, in which time, Takuya turned to lie on her side, her back now facing Grimmjow. Sleep was beginning to descend upon her now, like a warm blanket on a cold night, making her half-lidded gray eyes even heavier and more difficult to keep open. She had just about dozed off when the Espada suddenly spoke again.

"My smile, huh?"

His unexpected question had pulled the ebony-haired girl completely out of her sleepy haze and had widened her eyes as her brief conversation with him back on the training ground sprang back into her memory. She didn't turn to face him right away, afraid that he might see the blush that was now staining her cheeks pink.

"Yes…your smile…"

The Espada half-glared at the girl's back, waiting for an explanation. After a slight pause, she finally began to speak again.

"I'd never seen you smile as much as you did today. In fact…I don't recall ever seeing you smile at all before today. So, I made up in my mind, before the match had even begun, that it would be my duty to keep it there…and if defeating Rukia was what would keep that smile on your face, I would try my absolute hardest to win."

She then turned onto her other side so that she faced him, however still not meeting his gaze. "I know that you must think it's stupid…but, whether you believe me or not, it truly did motivate me. It really, truly did."

Grimmjow's gaze remained on the girl for a few more seconds before it shifted aimlessly into the dimness of the room.

"Tch…hell yeah I think it's stupid." he muttered. "Even after hearing you talk about it _twice_, it's still fucking hard to comprehend the notion of my…my…_smile_, being the sole object of your motivation. In all honesty, it makes me want to throw up…and then kill something…and then throw up some more."

The bluntness of his words caused Takuya to cringe slightly, a familiar uncertainty creeping back into her mind once again. A small sigh escaped her as she slowly began regretting ever bringing it up.

_I knew I shouldn't have told him…_

"But…," the Espada's voice drew her attention to his face once again, a wave of shock washing over her at the sight of a broad grin stretching across his face, "if it's in the name of beating the shit out of everybody, I guess I'll just have to deal with it, right?"

A smile slowly turned up the corners of Takuya's mouth, and the shock and uncertainty she felt was replaced with a small measure of joy. She'd opened her mouth to respond to him when, without warning, her room door flew open, revealing a semi-frantic Ichigo.

"Grimmjow, we've got trouble. Ulquiorra's shown up again…and this time, he's not alone."

* * *

**And there you have it, Chapter thirteen! This chapter was, by far, the HARDEST chapter to write, especially the fight scenes (I suck at those XP). Did you like it? Hate it? Do I get points for effort? LOL, feel free to share your thoughts. ALL opinions are welcome… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**


	14. Chapter 14

_Hi everyone! I'm back again, after 3 ½ years (well…actually 3 ½ months, but it felt like years right, lol…don't kill me X(!) This chapter was especially hard to complete, lol! …No, seriously, it was. But after approximately 10 re-writes and a whole lot of editing, I think I finally got it. But I'll let you be the judge of that. So, without further delay, here's chapter fourteen! :)_

_A/N: Nope, still don't own Bleach…_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**The Expected Day**

Grimmjow sensed them both almost immediately. Even before the orange-haired boy had gotten all the words out of his mouth, the spiritual pressures of the Cuarto and Diez Espada had overtaken his senses like a plague.

But, he wasn't surprised…no, not even in the least.

In fact, if he were to be truly honest with himself, he was…to some personally unnerving degree…_happy_ with the sudden invasion. A smirk flashed briefly over his lips and his hands balled into fists in his pockets. _Ulquiorra…I'll finally get to pay you back for last time…_

"Grimmjow, did you hear what I said?" Ichigo asked urgently, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Grimmjow looked up at Ichigo then, his expression almost completely blank. "No, I wasn't listening; I was too focused on pretending that you weren't there."

Ichigo shot the Espada a frustrated glare. "Oh c'mon, is this really the time for that –"

"I heard what you said, dammit. What, do you think I'm fucking deaf?" Grimmjow snapped as he moved closer to Takuya's bedside.

In one swift move, he'd scooped the girl up into his arms and got to his feet. He then turned back toward Ichigo, who immediately turned and headed out the room and toward the dining area where everyone else had already gathered.

"Takuya, you're awake." Orihime said cheerfully as they walked in. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok…but right now, my condition seems to be the least of our worries." Takuya replied.

"She's right…unfortunately." Urahara said, his attention shifting to Ichigo and Grimmjow. "Right now, our first priority is getting rid of our unwelcome guests."

"Indeed." Uryuu said, adjusting his glasses. "So, how exactly are we gonna go about doing this?"

"Tch…what the hell kind of question is that?" Grimmjow muttered; he set Takuya down next to Orihime before he spoke again. "There's only one way to deal with them, and that's to kill them."

"We understand that much, Grimmjow, but there're still a lot of factors we have to consider, like Soul Society for instance. This encounter poses the serious risk of having your cover completely blown."

"I don't care about that shit."

Uryuu shot the Espada a frustrated glare. "If the Soul Society discovers your true identity, they'll–"

"I don't fucking care. Those bastards were bound to find out eventually anyway; I'll deal with that shit when it actually happens. As for right now, I'm only focused on beating the shit out of Ulquiorra."

The quincy opened his mouth to retort, but was stopped when Urahara began to speak again.

"Grimmjow's right. We need to handle this current threat immediately; we can sort out all the necessary actions and related consequences along the way."

He stood up then. "Ichigo, Renji, you two go with Grimmjow and deal with the intruders. The rest of us will stay here and protect Orihime in the unlikely event that one of them manages to get pass you."

"Right." Ichigo and Renji said in unison as they quickly changed into their shinigami forms.

"Not just Orihime." Grimmjow said, his tone borderline threatening; he immediately fixed the shopkeeper with a cold glare. "That protection of yours had better extend to Takuya as well."

Urahara smiled. "Yes, of course, no worries. We'll keep her safe, too."

The Espada's glare remained on the shopkeeper for a second longer before he turned and headed out of the shop, Ichigo and Renji following behind him. Silence befell the dining area then, momentarily leaving everyone to their own thoughts.

"…Are you sure that that was a good idea, Urahara?" Uryuu spoke up after a minute or so had passed. "The Head Captain is sure to be sending shinigami here in response to this…if Grimmjow is discovered, we'll all be facing the chopping block. And, let's not forget the fact that these Espada are after him as well…"

The shopkeeper sighed as he snapped open his fan. "I wouldn't say that it was a good idea…but it was a rather unavoidable one." he replied. "Even if we didn't let Grimmjow go, the fight would've eventually been brought to him anyways. As you said…they are after him as well…"

Uryuu released a frustrated sigh. "Well…yes, but –"

Urahara raised his hand, silencing the quincy; he shook his head, a half-smile creeping onto his lips. "This is a day we knew would come, Uryuu, and these are circumstances that we knew we'd have to face. The only thing we can truly do right now is steel ourselves…because we're sure to be facing hell from here on in."

* * *

"This place again, huh?" Ichigo muttered as the trio touched down in a tree-bordered clearing that had once been a park. His brows furrowed as his gaze shifted over every slash and crater that marred the ground they stood on.

"You've been here before?" Renji asked.

"…Yeah." Ichigo replied with only the slightest hesitation. "This is the place where we first encountered Ulquiorra and Yammy."

"So, you do still remember that day. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised about that." Ulquiorra's monotonous voice drew the three's attention to the opposite side of the clearing. There the Cuarto Espada stood, his expression as stoic as ever.

"Ulquiorra…" Grimmjow snarled.

As if on cue, the slighter Espada's green-eyed gaze shifted to Grimmjow. "Hmmm…how is it that you are still alive, Grimmjow?" he asked, his tone carrying a slight hint of mockery. "I seem to remember shoving my hand straight through your chest."

Grimmjow chuckled at this. "Heh, let's just say I know why your bastard lord wants that girl's power so badly now…can't say I've ever seen a healing ability like that before."

"Indeed, it is rather remarkable." Ulquiorra said as he proceeded to walk slowly towards the three. "Since you have experienced her power first hand, then you must understand how essential it is to the success of _our_ lord's ambitions, and why it must be delivered to him without fail."

"Tch…I don't give a fuck about that bastard's stupid ambitions. It ain't got shit to do with me." Grimmjow scoffed. "Just the same, however, there's no way I'd just let him have something like that."

"You intend to try and stop me then?"

"Don't ask questions to which you already know the answers, you dumb fuck –"

"Hey, wait just a minute!" Ichigo's sudden outburst drew everyone's attention to him; he took a couple steps forward, drawing _Zangetsu_ as he did so. "There were two of you here, where's the other one? Where the hell is Yammy, Ulquiorra?"

Grimmjow's eyes widened slightly. His cerulean gaze scanned the entirety of the field then, and sure enough, the gargantuan Espada was nowhere to be found. His brow furrowed at this. How had he not noticed that fool's absence? His glare found its way back to Ulquiorra just as the slighter Espada began to speak again.

"Yammy's whereabouts are none of your concern." Ulquiorra replied.

"Bullshit!" Grimmjow growled; he then sprang forward, charging toward the green-eyed Espada at full speed. "You don't wanna answer on your own? Then I'll beat the answer out of you!"

* * *

The shop was quiet for the most part. Urahara, Uyruu, Chad, and Tessai sat around the table, quietly discussing possible courses of actions that may need to be taken and the different risks they would incur; Yoruichi, donning her cat form, came in minutes later, and was almost immediately drawn into their discussion. After only about five minutes, however, she left again, "going to check the status of the Soul Society," she'd said before disappearing. Takuya had moved away from the table by then and had taken a seat against the wall, where she was joined by Orihime and Rukia a minute or so later. For a while, they didn't speak, and rather just sat there staring aimlessly around the room.

"Umm…Takuya…," Rukia finally spoke up, breaking the silence, "you did great today…in our match. Congratulations on your win."

Takuya looked at female shinigami then, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "Thank you, Rukia." she replied.

"You're welcome." Rukia said looking up to meet the girl's gaze. "Your power is truly amazing, it really is."

"I agree." Orihime chimed in. "I've never seen anyone do what you did out there. It was…I don't even know how to describe it…"

"You manipulated my ice…turned it into a replica of my own zanpakutou…and then performed my attack flawlessly." Rukia breathed her tone one of wonderment. "How did you do that…I mean…how…?"

Takuya shook her head. "…I…I don't know…" she said quietly, her brow furrowing in thought as she recalled the match earlier that day. "But…the weirdest thing happened to me…when I touched your blade. For a short instant, I could…I could see everything about your _Sode no Shirayuki_… I could see that…it was a blade with the power to manipulated ice. I could see all of its attacks…and how they were used. I could also see that it…hasn't reached its second stage of transformation…its bankai…"

Rukia gasped, and her eyes widened as her mind tried to register what she'd just heard. _My gosh…is such a thing even possible…?_

"Wow…"Orihime murmured. "You could…you could see all that, just by touching the blade of the zanpakutou?"

Takuya nodded slowly. "Yes, though I am fairly sure that I could not explain how it was that it occurred…"

Releasing a deep sigh, she shifted her gaze down to her hands resting in her lap. The cuts in her palms were gone, she noted with a smile, and there wasn't even the slightest hint of misplacement in her skin to signify that they'd been there to begin with.

"I owe you a "thank you" as well, Orihime." she spoke again.

"Huh? For what?" Orihime asked.

"For healing my hands…I can't even tell that they were ever injured now."

"…I'm afraid that that wasn't Orihime's doing, Takuya." Rukia said, her gaze going to the girl's hands as well.

Takuya looked at Rukia then, confusion etching itself into her expression. She looked over at Orihime then. "You didn't?"

Orihime shook her head "no."

Takuya's eyes widened and her gaze shifted back down to her hands. "But…I don't understand. Your healing ability is only one I've ever seen completely reverse damage done. But…if it wasn't you, then…who…?"

"It was you, Takuya. Your hands were healed by your own spirit energy." Rukia replied. "Don't you remember? They disappeared during your match with me, when you -"

The female shinigami immediately bit off the rest of her sentence when all the sudden, Takuya's gaze snapped up from her hands, and a shuddering gasp escaped her lips.

"Takuya…?" Orihime murmured, nervously placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"There's someone here…" the ebony-haired girl spoke in a half-whisper. "He's…he's trying to hide his presence…but I can still sense him. He's right outside the shop."

"That's the spiritual pressure of that large Espada from the first invasion." Urahara stated, he and everyone else standing to their feet.

"That's Yammy. He must've managed to get pass Ichigo and the others." Chad said.

"No, I don't think that's it." Uryuu said. "I think he separated from Ulquiorra before they had even arrived. We would've detected him long before he managed to get this close to us had he merely managed to get pass them."

"Uryuu's right. Yammy must've been sent here to capture Orihime." Urahara said; he grabbed his cane from its resting place in a corner of the dining area. "Rukia, I want you to keep Orihime and Takuya close to you, and stay behind us."

"Right." Rukia said, immediately changing into her shinigami form.

"Oh, so you've sniffed me out, have you? Not bad…but I'm afraid it's a bit too late to be throwing together some useless defense strategy."

Everyone's eyes turned upward toward the ceiling where the booming voice seemed to be resonating from. Seconds later, without even the slightest warning, it caved in, eliciting gasps and yelps from everyone below it. Raucous laughter echoed through the air as the giant Espada stuck his head into the ceiling, his eyes shifting over everyone in the entire room before stopping on Rukia, Orihime, and Takuya.

"Ha, well how about that! Ulquiorra was right on the money with that idea of his." he laughed. "I would've never thought to consider checking out a homely little place like this."

"Well, it's certainly nice of you to drop by…but next time I'd really prefer it if you'd make use of the front door." Urahara said casually.

Yammy's smile dropped almost immediately as he turned his glare back toward the shopkeeper.

"I remember you…" he said after a slight pause. "You're the guy we encountered from our first trip here to the living world."

"That's correct." Urahara said, removing his hat and giving a slight bow. "It's certainly nice to know that I've already made an impression."

"Tch, I've got no business with you today, insect, and for that you should be grateful." Yammy boomed venomously; he then looked back toward the girls, a disconcerting grin appearing on his face as he did so. "I do, however, have business with them."

Rukia quickly drew _Sode no Shirayuki_ and planted herself firmly in front of Orihime and Takuya. "Feel free to give it your best shot you oversized abomination, but you will not succeed. I won't allow you to lay a single finger on Orihime!"

"Hahaha, foolish shinigami. I'm here for more than just your precious little healing girl. Our lord has also shown interest in another girl, one who possesses spirit energy unlike anything he's ever seen."

At that moment, everyone's gaze – including Yammy's – shifted to Takuya. The girl's gray eyes had gone wide with shock as her mind attempted to process what she'd just heard. Her heart thundered in her chest as she stepped back cautiously until her back was against the wall.

"No…no way…" she breathed. "…Me?"

Only seconds after those words left her lips, all hell had broken loose. With surprising speed, Yammy began tearing through the remainder of the roof. Reacting with just as much speed, Chad used himself as a human battering ram, and forcibly shoved the giant Espada back up and away from the hole.

"Rukia, take the girls and find a place to hide." Urahara ordered as he, Tessai, and Uryuu leapt up after Chad and immediately joined in the assault.

Rukia gave a quick nod before grabbing Takuya and Orihime by their wrists, leading the two around the rubble and out into the hallway and then ushered them into Takuya's room. After shutting the door behind them, she immediately turned to the two girls.

"Don't worry, you two. That beast won't get to either of you; we all will see to that." she said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

Orihime and Takuya nodded slowly, doing their best to take her words to heart as they worked to calm themselves down. Above them now, the sound of blows being traded filtered through the damaged roof, and a loud voice they knew belonged to the intruding Espada echoed angrily through the air.

"Get out of my way, annoying little pests!" Yammy bellowed as he threw punch after punch in an attempt to get back to the hole in the rooftop. "There is nothing you fools can do to save them! Lord Aizen _will_ have what he wants at any cost! There is absolutely no escape for them!"

"Keep telling yourself that, big guy." Urahara said as he managed to land a kick that knocked the Espada back several feet; he then lifted his cane to his eye level. "Awaken…_Benihime_."

Within seconds, the cane had completely transformed into a medium-sized zanpakutou. Not wasting any time, the shopkeeper swung his blade, flinging particles of crimson-colored energy at the semi-shocked Espada, who had only barely managed to dodge them.

"Damn you, shinigami!" he roared as he immediately charged forward to counter attack. "Get the hell outta my way!"

* * *

Grimmjow's fist halted abruptly just centimeters away from Ulquiorra's face as his attention went to the sudden spike of Yammy's spiritual pressure. Growling, he abruptly shoved the slighter Espada off to the side and shifted his gaze in the direction he knew Urahara's shop to be in.

"Tch…there's that giant dumbass." he muttered; he then looked back over at Ulquiorra. "Looks like you didn't have to tell me anything after all, huh Cuarto…since that gargantuan idiot you dare refer to as a fucking comrade gave his own damn position away."

"That doesn't really matter." Ulquiorra replied, dusting himself off. "What should matter in your case, however, is whether or not you will even be able to reach him before he completes his task."

Grimmjow chuckled bitterly at this. "Does that mean that _you're_ gonna try and stop me from doing just that? You could barely land a blow on me the entire time we fought, you pathetic prick. What the fuck do you think you could possibly do?"

Despite his unflinchingly blank expression, Ulquiorra's green eyes hardened into an icy glare. Though he would never willingly admit it, the blue-haired Espada had indeed overpowered him almost completely during their fight; he'd matched him blow-for-blow, and even managed to stop every cero he attempted to launch from firing. It shouldn't have been possible, especially not for someone a full two ranks below him, and yet, somehow this…_trash_…had done just that. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as an unlikely question began to form in his mind.

_It shouldn't have been possible…so then, how had he accomplished it…? Wait, could it be -_

"You're way off your game today…Ulquiorra."

An unmistakable – yet barely audible – gasp escaped the green-eyed Espada then, and at that precise moment, he found himself trying to determine what shocked him more…the fact that he'd been caught completely off guard, or the sight of a small, pitch black cube hovering into the hollow hole in his chest.

"Shit…" he almost hissed as bright white light exploded from his chest and rapidly enclosed him within a dark void; his eyes found Grimmjow just before he was completely confined.

"Your useless actions only succeed in prolonging the inev- "

Ulquiorra's words were abruptly cut off when the bright light completely engulfed him, and shortly after, the light faded away completely, leaving only an empty space where the Cuarto Espada had been standing. Grimmjow spit in the empty space, strings of profanities hissing inaudibly pass his lips.

"Well, it looks like we didn't even need to come here, seeing as all we really did was stand on the sidelines and watch." Renji said suddenly, breaking the slightly awkward silence as he and Ichigo walked up to the Espada. "So, what the hell was that at the end there?"

"Caja de Negación, a tool given to the Espada as a means of punishing our fracción." Grimmjow replied. "It traps them in an alternate dimension that they cannot escape from."

"So then…Ulquiorra's trapped forever in other words?" Ichigo asked.

"Tch…of course not."

"But didn't you just say –"

"It doesn't work that way on Espada, idiot."

"…Oh…man, well that sucks…"

Grimmjow shot an annoyed glare at the boy momentarily before turning toward the direction of the shop. "I'd say we have an hour or three before that emo son of a bitch is able to get out."

"Where will he end up at when he does get out?" Renji asked.

"Who knows, who the fuck cares…it ain't really that big of a concern to me." Grimmjow muttered. "Let's just get rid of the giant dumbass and be done with this shit."

At that the trio took off, heading back towards Urahara's shop.

* * *

Yet another portion of the shop's roof was obliterated under the weight of Yammy's falling body. He'd been knocked down…again…this time by Chad, who'd literally barrel into him with every ounce of his strength at every chance he'd get. The large Espada pounded his fist angrily into the already damaged dining area floor where he'd landed, his eyes remaining trained on the four currently staring down at him.

"ANNOYING LITTLE BASTARDS!" he bellowed furiously. "YOU'RE WASTING MY TIME!"

"Well, we can't exactly say that we feel bad about that." Urahara commented.

The seething Espada hurriedly rose to his feet. "I've had enough of your stupid little games." he growled. "Failure of this mission is NOT an option, and so therefore…I'll just have to FLATTEN this ugly little shop of yours, and TAKE Lord Aizen's prey BY FORCE!"

Almost immediately after the words left his lips, a large red cero formed in the palm of his right hand; but a split second before the blast was released, his hand was yanked above his head, causing the cero to fire up into the sky and miss the shop completely. Yammy was only barely able to react in anger at the diversion of his blast before he found himself being forcibly flung back up and out of the hole in the shop's roof. Now completely infuriated, he whirled around to see who it was that had thwarted his attempts yet again…and was nothing short of shocked when his eyes came to rest on Grimmjow, who now stood only a few feet away from him with his hands shoved into his pockets and an annoyed scowl etched into his expression. After a few seconds, the giant Espada burst into loud, raucous laughter.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here, Grimmjow?" he asked amidst his chuckling. "Surely the Sexta Espada didn't abandon his fight with his greatest rival, Ulquiorra, just to come here and try to stop me!"

"No I didn't abandon my fight with that emo-clown bastard, dumbass." Grimmjow replied semi-sarcastically. "I beat the shit out of him as a matter of fact…without even breaking a sweat."

At that moment, Yammy's laughter came to an abrupt halt. He glared incredulously at Grimmjow and folded his arms across his chest.

"Surely you don't expect me to believe that, do you…that garbage like _you_ actually managed to _defeat_ Ulquiorra? That's the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard!"

"Is it? Well then tell me, where the hell is he right now?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Yammy immediately expanded his senses in an attempt to discover Ulquiorra's location. About three minutes had passed when he finally decided to stop and look back at Grimmjow, shock and absolute disbelief riddling his expression. He couldn't sense the Cuarto Espada at all, not even remotely.

"Impossible…impossible…I don't believe, th-there's no way!" he stammered, suddenly becoming angry all over again. "I refuse to believe that Ulquiorra was beaten by a pathetic weakling like you!"

Grimmjow shrugged. "Your choice; I personally don't give a fuck either way…"

Infuriated, Yammy immediately reassumed his fighting stance and began charging up another cero. "YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! I'LL FUCKING KILL –"

"Save it." Grimmjow muttered, effectively cutting Yammy off.

Then, without warning, the space beneath the giant Espada's feet began to churn and rip apart, revealing a pitch black tunnel of whirling torrential energy that immediately began pulling him in.

_Tch…the garganta…?_

Yammy growled at this, and quickly looked back towards Grimmjow once again…only to find that he was no longer there. The sound of crackling energy reached his ears then, along with the sight of a faint red glow that seemed to be getting brighter and brighter with each passing second. An unmistakable gasp escaped him as his attention was suddenly directed up above him. His wide eyes had only rested on the Sexta Espada for a split second when the blood red energy of two fully charged ceros began descending upon him at a lethal speed. Without the slightest hesitation, Yammy quickly descended into the garganta, willing it to close behind him as quickly as it possibly could. To his great frustration, however, it wasn't quick enough as the energy managed to make it pass the steadily closing rip and successfully find its mark. Howls of pain were the last thing to be heard as the garganta finally sealed shut.

"…So…is it over?" Ichigo asked after a few seconds of silence had passed.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Renji said. "That didn't last nearly as long as I thought it would."

"No it didn't, but as of right now, that point is irrelevant." Urahara stated; his eyes shifted to Grimmjow. "We still have to endure the Soul Society…and that's a totally different challenge in and of itself."

"It shouldn't be much different from their last visit, right?" Chad asked. "They'll only be coming to interrogate us about what took place in the battle…"

Urahara shook his head. "No…it's much more complicated than that now. In addition to the nature our…"intruders"…there's the fact that Grimmjow's spiritual pressure was released and fully detectable during the greater portion of this conflict. In light of that, our greatest predicament now is coming up with a justifiable explanation."

"Tch…you plan to try and just explain this shit away?" Grimmjow said, looking around to meet the shopkeeper's gaze. "There's no way in hell you can make three Espada look like two, especially with the differences in our spiritual pressure."

"Well, we have no choice but to try at this point." Urahara said, adjusting his hat on his head; he released a deep sigh before he spoke again. "Another part of our current situation has also taken a drastic turn for the worse."

"…What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked warily.

"It was made quite clear to us, courtesy of Yammy, that Aizen has set his sights on yet another target…that target being Takuya."

"What?" Renji exclaimed. "So now that bastard's trying to get her, too?"

"That shit shouldn't surprise you that badly." Grimmjow commented, drawing the others' attention. "You had to know it was gonna happen at some point…since the day her power was released. It was only a matter of time before he'd come after it as well."

"Dammit…that bastard has got some nerve…" Ichigo growled. "Like he isn't causing us enough grief already…now he's trying to –"

"It doesn't matter, though." the Espada interjected, cutting Ichigo off. "He can try whatever the hell he wants…but if I have anything to do with it, he'll fail miserably every fucking time."

And with that he sonido'ed into the shop, and headed back to Takuya's room.

* * *

All three girls looked up when the room door opened, but they immediately relaxed when Grimmjow walked in.

"Is it over?" Orihime asked as she and Rukia stood to their feet. "Is everyone ok?"

Grimmjow merely nodded.

Rukia cleared her throat before speaking. "I take it you've already been informed on the…"new development" as well then?"

The Espada's gaze shifted over to Takuya then. The ebony-haired girl had remained seated in her spot against the side of her bed. She looked up to meet his gaze after a second or two, a faint smile forming on her lips in an unsuccessful attempt to hide the fear he saw in her eyes.

"Yeah…I was." he finally answered.

"What are we gonna do?"

Grimmjow shot the female shinigami an incredulous glare. "Well what the hell do you think we're gonna do?"

"…Yeah, you're right, dumb question…sorry…"

The Espada's eyes widened then, his incredulous glare immediately transforming into one of pure shock. Did this woman just…_agree_ with him? _Consciously_?

"What in the –"

"Alright c'mon, Orihime, let's go check on everyone else." Rukia suddenly blurted out, taking the auburn-haired girl by the wrist and quickly pulling her out of the room.

Grimmjow looked on with a puzzled expression as the two wordlessly rushed out of the room before redirecting his attention to Takuya. The girl's expression was almost completely blank, and her gaze held no true point of focus as she seemed to simply stare aimlessly into the space in front of her. A couple minutes of silence had passed before she finally began to speak.

"Grimmjow…"

"What is it?"

"…Why is he after me? What does he want?"

"Tch… what the hell do you think he wants?" Grimmjow replied as he moved to sit against the wall directly across from the girl. "The bastard is after your power."

Takuya wrung her hands nervously. "But why? I don't even know how to use it. What could he possibly hope to gain by capturing me?"

"The state you're in doesn't matter at all to him. It's the fact that you have a vast amount of spirit energy that interests him and nothing else."

"Why bother when nothing can be done with me? What good is having power that can't even be used?"

"I told you that shit doesn't matter to him –"

The Espada immediately bit off his sentence when Takuya's demeanor began to change. Her breathing had quickened, and both her arms were now wrapped tightly around her midsection. Her head was hung now, but he didn't need to see her face to know exactly what was happening. The girl was beginning to panic…and it was triggering the release of her spirit energy.

…_Shit…_

"I don't understand…people like him." she spoke again, the pain she was starting to feel at her core filtering into her trembling voice. "Hasn't he put us through enough hell as it is? Why…why can't he just leave us alone?"

At that moment, a faint blue light cloaked the entirety of her body, and its intensity seemed to grow brighter with every passing second. Growling slightly, Grimmjow moved so that he knelt directly in front of the girl.

"Calm down, would ya? Damn, what the hell are you getting yourself all worked up for?" he said sharply.

"…Because…I'm…I'm afraid…" Takuya answered her voice now only barely above a whisper; unshed tears began spilling silent from her eyes. "I tried so hard not to be…but, all this…I can't…I don't know if I can handle this…"

Her sentence was abruptly cut off when Grimmjow's hand found its way under her chin and lifted her head; her eyes immediately locked with his, the intensity of his cerulean orbs refusing to let her look away.

"You're afraid for no reason." he said flatly. "Do you understand that, girl? You ain't got shit to be afraid of."

Takuya's teary eyes widened at this, and an inaudible gasp whispered silently pass her lips; slowly, but surely, the light that had enveloped her body began to fade to nothing. "…Grimmjow…"

The Espada released her chin then. "_I_ am your defense. Nothing – not Aizen or anyone else - can get to you without getting through me, you got that? So cut all that panicking shit out, alright?"

A small smile found its way back to Takuya's lips as she swiped stray tears away from her face. "Ok…" she said after a second's pause.

Grimmjow watched her for a few moments as she continued to dry the remainder of her tears. Seemingly convinced that she had indeed calmed down, he then got to his feet and moved to leave the room. Before his hand could reach the door, however, he felt a tap on his shoulder. His brow furrowing slightly, he glanced over his shoulder; his eyes immediately came to rest upon Takuya, who now stood about a foot away, smiling warmly up at him. Releasing a deep sigh, he turned back toward the girl.

"What is it now?" he muttered.

And then, without any given warning, the ebony-haired girl closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. The Espada stared blankly at the girl, caught so far off guard that he couldn't react properly. However, before he could attempt to verbally respond, her voice reached his ears.

"Thank you…" she spoke in a half-whisper. "I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here…"

After a couple seconds, she released him, a slight blush tinting her cheeks as she looked back up into his face. Giggling softly at his unreservedly shocked expression, she then proceeded to move around him and exit the room. The Espada watched her until she disappeared into the dining area, his mind still attempting to grasp what had just happened. A few more seconds passed before he finally turned and headed toward his room, shaking his head. A soft growl rumbled in his chest as a single thought flashed through his mind.

…_You're welcome…_

* * *

**Another chapter comes to a close! So what'd you think? Love it? Hate it? Nice try? XD Feel free to share, ALL opinions welcome… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**


	15. Chapter 15

_Hello again, everyone 3! I'm back yet again with another chapter of Unbound! I think I've officially broken my own record for the longest length of time I've gone without updating. I just can't seem to shake this writer's block and it's absolutely KILLING me, lol! Anywho, on with the story! :)_

_A/N: I do NOT own Bleach…_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen:**

**Target: Grimmjow Jaegarjaques**

"So…even with your volunteered assistance, the two of you were still unable to retrieve our guests, I see? How very unfortunate…" Aizen's perpetually cool tone resonated throughout the throne room.

Yammy flinched, not sure what to make of the man's reaction. "Things…simply didn't fall into place as we thought they would, my lord." he attempted to explain.

"Well isn't _that_ quite obvious." Gin commented with a slight chuckle. "I bet little Ulqui-chan is quite upset about that."

"Hmmm…while we are on the subject of Ulquiorra…where might he be at this time?" Aizen asked.

Yammy gulped slightly as he racked his brain for an answer. "Ummm…well…he –"

"I am right here, my lord." Ulquiorra's monotonous voice echoed from behind the giant Espada, and drew everyone's attention to the throne room entrance. "Please forgive my tardiness. I was in…somewhat of a bind, for lack of better words."

"Ah, I see. Understandable." Aizen said. "Now, about your mission…"

"It was a failure, as you may have already been informed." Ulquiorra replied. "I encountered a rather unexpected factor, one that may change the scope of the entire mission if it goes unchecked."

"Oh, and what would this factor be?"

"It would seem…that Grimmjow has somehow managed to get stronger since my last visit to the world of the living; his physical prowess has noticeably increased, as has his spiritual pressure."

"Hmmm, is that so?"

"Lord Aizen," Tosen suddenly interjected, stepping forward from his place just behind the throne, "if what Ulquiorra says is true, then the red flag has been raised. I strongly suggest that immediate action be taken."

"Nothing is to be done at this time." Aizen said.

"But why, my lord? If Grimmjow's strength is indeed increasing, then it could only mean one thing…that the seal you placed on him is weakening!"

"Seal? What seal?" Yammy blurted out, utter confusion marring his expression. "I've never been informed about any seal…!"

"Hmmm…so it is as I suspected then…" Ulquiorra said his tone remotely thoughtful.

Yammy looked over at the Cuarto Espada then. "You know about this seal thing?"

"Of course I know about it. I was there when it was placed on him." Ulquiorra remarked; he then looked up at the ex-shinigami. "I will explain it to him on your behalf, if I may…"

"Proceed." Aizen said with a slight nod.

Ulquiorra nodded in return before turning his attention to Yammy once again. "During his promotion into the ranks of the Espada, it was discovered that Grimmjow possessed an enormous amount of untapped spirit energy inadvertently sealed off at his core…an amount large enough to easily declare him the strongest of the ten Espada, and put him on equal playing ground with Generals Tosen and Ichimaru."

Yammy's eyes widened. "No way…Grimmjow?"

"Yes." Ulquiorra replied. "At first, this power was looked upon as an asset to the progression of our lord's goals and ambitions, but that quickly changed with the rapid discovery of Grimmjow's problematic disposition. As we all know very well now, he is incredibly disruptive, unnecessarily destructive, and highly prone to acting according to his own will instead of that of our lord, especially if he is not in agreement with orders given to him. Approximately three days after his promotion, measures were taken to strengthen the rapidly weakening seal that was already in place within the Sexta Espada's body. The end result was the discovery and use of an ancient, but generally effective seal of limitation by Lord Aizen that would take the place of the current, weakening seal."

"Wow…this is news to me. I never knew about any of this." Yammy said.

"Of course you didn't. You were not here to witness any of those events." Ulquiorra said flatly.

"I guess not…so then, what's going on with the seal now?"

"As General Tosen has already stated, the seal is weakening."

"My lord, please," both Ulquiorra's and Yammy's attention was redirected to the throne at the sound of Tosen's voice echoing through the room once again, "this matter cannot be left alone. The seal has been left unchecked for too long. We must act immediately to keep it from weakening further!"

"Now, now, cool your jets for a minute, Tosen." Gin said. "While it would be lovely to proceed with affirmative action immediately, it would be all together useless at this point. There's not much of anything we can do about that seal."

Tosen looked at Gin with a slightly puzzled expression. "What do you mean by that?"

Gin sighed. "It's an ancient seal, Tosen. Putting it into place is the only way we know how to use it right now…we have yet to find any method for repairing it."

"Wait…hold on a minute…" Yammy blurted out again. "You're saying that if this seal on Grimmjow weakens enough, then –"

"Then it will consequentially disappear, and all of that power currently sealed within him will be released." Aizen spoke suddenly; everyone quieted as he stood from his throne and gazed directly down at Ulquiorra and Yammy. "The two of you are to go to the infirmary immediately after leaving here so that you may get healed up. Afterwards, prepare yourselves to go back to the world of the living."

"Are we making another capture attempt, my lord?" Yammy asked.

"No; as of right now your sole target is Grimmjow Jaegarjaques." Aizen said, his tone bearing more sternness that it normally did. "As of right now, his existence poses a dire threat to my ambitions as well as the future vitality of Hueco Mundo. Eliminate him by any means necessary. Do whatever you feel is needed to ensure the successful completion of this task, do you understand?"

Ulquiorra and Yammy nodded and bowed respectably. "Yes, Lord Aizen."

* * *

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that there were only two Espada involved in the invasion when our radars clearly detected three? Is that what I am to make of what you're trying to tell me?"

Urahara looked up at Soi Fon, who currently stood no more than a foot away from where he was seated at the battered table; a small smile lit his face.

"That's correct." he said casually. "It is true after all…"

"Haha! That is the biggest load of bologna I've ever heard!" Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda's voice carried nearly the same volume as Yammy's had, as did his laughter. "I suppose that's all we could expect from someone as loony as this guy is, eh captain – uhh…oh…"

Soi Fon glared coldly at the large man, her fists clinched so tightly that her knuckles looked gray. "Shut your damn mouth you insolent fool, and keep your stupidity to yourself!" she hissed. "Another outburst like that and I _will_ kill you, is that clear?"

Omaeda immediately shrunk away from the woman, knowing full well the truth behind her words. "Yes…captain…" he mumbled.

Soi Fon glared at her lieutenant for a second longer before whirling back around to face Urahara once more. "And as for you…your explanation is complete and utter farce! Our radars clearly detected _three_ Espada here in the world of the living during the time of the invasion. Do not attempt to tell me otherwise!"

"Well, if there was a third Espada here, we did not see him or her, as we only encountered two." Urahara stated. "Perhaps that is why it's hard for you to accept my explanation."

"The only reason that I do not _accept_ your explanation is that it is absolutely preposterous!" Soi Fon snapped, her voice getting progressively louder. "How in the hell could you possibly avoid coming into contact with a target that was within such close proximity of your location?"

"It wasn't avoidance; we merely never came into contact with said third Espada. As I said before, we only encountered two…"

"Argh, I don't have time for this! There were three Espada here, dammit! Quit trying to refute that fact!"

"I never refuted anything, captain. I merely said that we only dealt with two Espada during the length of the invasion. We never encountered a third."

"LIAR!

"He isn't lying, Soi Fon." Ichigo interjected. "Not at any point during the length of our battle did we ever come into contact with a third Espada. There was just the two…we only fought two!"

"Humph, do you honestly believe that your word is any more reliable than this fool's is? You're nothing more than a lowly substitute shinigami who can't even properly contain his own spiritual pressure, much less sense another's." Soi Fon scoffed sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest.

Ichigo shot the woman a frustrated glare. "He's telling the truth, dammit –"

"Don't bother wasting your breath, Kurosaki." The sudden interjection of Grimmjow's voice drew everyone's attention to where he sat against the wall next to Takuya. "There isn't any point in trying to tell this bitch a damn thing. All she'll do is shoot it down."

Soi Fon, largely caught off guard by the comment made by someone she literally hadn't bothered to pay any attention to, turned around so that she fully faced Grimmjow, her arms dropping back down to her sides. "What did you say?"

"Tch…don't pretend like you didn't hear what I said." Grimmjow said tersely. "How the hell do you get off coming in here calling everybody a fucking liar when you weren't even around to see what happened?"

"He's right." Takuya added. "There is no way that you could possibly dictate the details and occurrences of an event that you weren't even present to witness."

"Be silent!" Soi Fon yelled. "Neither of you are at liberty to pose any questions whatsoever! _I_ am the one conducting the investigation! Any question posed will be only those that _I_ ask, _not_ any of you!"

"Then how about you quit wasting our damn time, start _asking_ some fucking questions, and get this shit over with, you irritating bitch!" Grimmjow spat.

A few seconds passed in silence then as everyone in the room – excluding Takuya – gaped in horror at the situation playing out before them, their eyes shifting between Soi Fon and Grimmjow. The squad two captain literally trembled with rage, her fists clenched so tightly at her sides that her knuckles had turned white. She glared murderously at Grimmjow, who glared back unflinchingly, critical annoyance marring his own expression.

"Do you have any idea as to just _who_ it is you're talking to?" Soi Fon hissed through clenched teeth.

Grimmjow shifted in his seated position so that he sat up straight.

"I don't care who the hell you are." he responded after a slight pause. "What I do know, though, is that you're really beginning to piss me off with that smartass, holier-than-thou attitude of yours. You don't know shit about what happened down here during that attack, and yet you continue to insist that these guys are lying about everything despite the fact that they _were_ here and actually fought against the invading force. I'm fucking tired of it. So as of now, you only have two options…you can quit being a bitch and accept the facts as they've been given, or you can have my foot shoved so far up your narrow ass that it literally breaks you in half."

Soi Fon's hand was on her zanpakutou a split second before all of the sharp words had finished spewing out of Grimmjow's mouth; an unabashed rage seared within her stone gray eyes as she yanked it from its sheath.

"How dare you, you insolent bastard! I'll teach you _never_ to speak to me in such a way _ever_ _again_ –"

"That's enough, Soi Fon."

The captain jumped at the sound of Yoruichi's voice, and immediately turned around to see the golden-eyed woman shooting her a stern glare, her arms folded loosely across her chest as she leaned against the doorpost.

"Lady Yoruichi…" Soi Fon said, quickly sheathing her zanpakutou and bowing respectfully.

"You are here to conduct an investigation, Soi Fon, not to pick fights."

Soi Fon stood up straight once more. "But my lady, this…this unknown fool," she pointed towards Grimmjow, "is incredibly rude and disrespectful, and has even threatened to bring harm to my person. I simply cannot allow such disregard for superiority to go unpunished."

Yoruichi laughed lightly at this – much to Soi Fon's chagrin – as her eyes shifted over to where Grimmjow sat. "_Jack_ tends to get like that sometimes…that's just his personality. However, as a captain, you should be able to show a bit more restraint instead of simply allowing yourself to get caught up in such triviality. Now, have you gathered all the necessary details about what took place during the invasion?"

"Yes, and that is also another issue." Soi Fon responded. "Urahara adamantly insists that only two Espada attacked them during the invasion, but our radars clearly detected the presence of three Espada here in the living world during the time the invasion took place."

"You are correct. I, too, sensed the spiritual pressures of three Espada." Yoruichi commented.

A smug smirk curved the captain's lips as she quickly turned back to face Urahara once again; however, before any words could escape her, Yoruichi spoke up again.

"But…Kisuke is also correct. There were three here, no doubt about it, but according to what I was unfortunate enough to witness, only two of them actually came into direct contact with them…an incredibly unusual course of action on the enemy's part, but still…"

Soi Fon felt the color drain from her face as she slowly turned around to face the woman. "Wha…w-what?"

"Well how about that, seems that no one was lying after all." Grimmjow scoffed sarcastically. "My, my, you must feel like a fucking horse's ass right now, huh?"

Soi Fon shot the Espada a furious glare. "Ugh, _**SHUT**_the hell _**UP**_!" she yelled.

"Now, now, that's quite enough." Yoruichi spoke up, taking a couple steps forward so that she now stood completely within the war-torn dining area. "Soi Fon, if you've gotten all the information you need, then you should hurry back to the Soul Society. No doubt Head Captain Yamamoto is impatiently awaiting your return."

"Oh…yes, of course. I'll take my leave then." Soi Fon muttered after a slight pause. "Come, Omaeda."

"Uhh…yes, captain." Omaeda stammered as he got to his feet; he stopped just short of exiting the shop, however, and turned to look back at Grimmjow. "Remember this, fool…if you ever talk to my captain in such a way ever again, I will personally end your life on the spot, got that?"

Grimmjow eyed the man for a second, a devilish grin stretching across his face. "I'd love to see you try." he replied, his deceivingly amused tone harboring an unfathomable malice that shook the large man at his core.

Wasting no more time, Omaeda quickly turned and followed after his captain, refusing to look back. _Tch…s-strange man…_

Silence descended upon the room the instant the shop door slammed shut, but had only managed to last for a few seconds before Ichigo began to speak.

"…That woman irks the hell outta me." he commented to no one in particular. "I swear, she's got some damn nerve coming here and trying to tell us what did or didn't happen."

"Well…it's all neither here nor there now I suppose. It's over, at least for the moment." Urahara said with a tired sigh; he shifted his gaze toward the Espada, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "It looks like we managed to pull it off after all, wouldn't ya say?"

"Tch…only barely." Grimmjow muttered as he slowly climbed to his feet. "That little explanation of yours would've gotten shot straight to hell though…had that bitch attacked me."

"Hmph, don't be ridiculous." Uryuu chided, adjusting his glasses. "We're risking a lot to ensure that your cover isn't blown here. You shouldn't even think of acting so carelessly –"

"You act as if I _asked_ you to risk everything on my account." Grimmjow retorted coldly, cutting the quincy off. "Look I'll tolerate all this bullshit to an extent, but don't expect me to just sit here and _let_ some shinigami bitch raise up at me like that without any kind of retaliation."

"Are you not thinking at all? If you had lashed out at her, then all of our efforts to keep you off the Soul Society's radar would've been completely wasted, and all that we put at risk –"

Grimmjow had moved far too fast for Uryuu or anyone else in the room to react to his sudden charge, and the quincy suddenly found himself pinned to the wall behind the spot at the table where he'd just been sitting only a second or so before, his feet only barely making contact with the floor. The rumble of a greatly restrained growl sounded in the Espada's chest, and his cerulean orbs hardened into a purely defiant glare.

"I don't give a fuck about what you're risking, understand that, four-eyes?" he snapped venomously. "I will be _**dead**_ before any shinigami bastard attempts to attack me and get away with it!"

With that he released the quincy, and then turned and left the dining area, disappearing into the hallway before another word could be said. After a few seconds of shock-laden silence, everyone's eyes shifted toward a somewhat shaken Uryuu as he slowly reassumed his seated position at the table.

"Wow, he just keeps getting scarier all the time, doesn't he?" Urahara said jokingly as he snapped open his fan, laughter evident in his voice. "For a second there, I thought he was actually gonna kill you."

Uryuu cast a bewildered glare at the shopkeeper as he pushed his glasses back up the brim of his nose. "I hardly find any of this even remotely funny, Urahara."

"Hehe, well, did he at least succeed in getting his point across to you?"

"…It was received quite clearly." the quincy replied with some measure of hesitation. "However, my stance on the issue remains unchanged…it would be an absolute waste of all our time and efforts if all he ends up doing is throwing away his life the way he would've had he lashed out at Soi Fon."

"But can you honestly blame him for choosing that course of action?" Takuya suddenly interjected, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I mean…here you have an Espada who is literally being forced to live among his natural enemies and conceal his true identity…to be someone else entirely…in order to stay alive. To have the captain draw her weapon against him like that had to have been incredibly infuriating…"

"That may indeed be true…still, that isn't the point I'm trying to make here –"

"But the point that I _am_ making is simply this…," the ebony-girl's tone was uncharacteristically stern, stunning the quincy to silence, "while it is true that we are risking much, and putting a great deal of effort into everything that we've done thus far…it pales in comparison to all the effort being put forth by Grimmjow himself. He's doing more than we can even begin to understand…"

She stood to her feet then, and headed for the hallway. Before she completely disappeared, however, she looked back toward Uryuu.

"Maybe if you tried to look at this situation from his prospective, as opposed to your own…you'd begin to understand a little bit more…"

And with that, she disappeared into the dreary dimness of the hallway, and silence overtook the atmosphere of the dining area once more. After about a minute or so, the uneasy hush of the room was broken when Urahara released a deep sigh.

"She's right you know…" he said, adjusting his hat on his head before looking up at Uryuu. "Grimmjow is most definitely putting up more of an effort than we ourselves are."

"Indeed he is." Yoruichi agreed. "It's an absolutely undeniable fact that we would do well _not_ to forget."

Uryuu sighed before nodding slowly in hesitant agreement. "…Yes, I suppose you're right…this time at least…"

Urahara smiled. "Well, I'm glad we're finally on the same page." he said as he stood up from the table; he sighed as he cast a slightly bewildering glance at his heavily damaged roof. "Now we can focus on another, more important matter…the reparation of my shop…"

* * *

**And there you have it, the closing of another chapter! I have to say though, I personally don't think I ended this one right, but I'll let you be the judge of that. So, what'd ya think? Love it? Hate it? Points for effort? Lol, feel free to share your thoughts! ALL opinions are welcome… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**


	16. Chapter 16

_Hi, everyone! I'm finally back after…forever, lol! Please accept my apologies for the overly extended delay in updating; it just seems that everything tedious, random, and time-consuming (some good and some bad) that could happen in my life just decided to all happen at one time, from being sick for weeks at a time to sudden job description changes to random road trips galore. *Phew*…anyways, enough about my life, you guys have waited long enough. On with the story!_

_A/N: Even after this long absence, I still do NOT own Bleach…_

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**The Broken Seal**

"The seal's hold is weakening rapidly…I can feel it."

Yammy cast a quick, uneasy glance toward the sound of the Cuarto Espada's voice before shifting his gaze back in the direction he knew Urahara's shop to be. "How can you tell?"

"The spirit energy that had been locked away by that seal has begun to seep out, which is inadvertently speeding up the rate at which the seal is loosening." Ulquiorra replied. "Soon the seal will be unable to retain the massive amount of energy…and Grimmjow's power will be elevated to a point that none of us will be able to match."

Yammy's fists tightened at his sides. "Then what the hell are we waiting for! We've got to hurry and kill him before that happens, right?"

"Yes…but we will not be rushing in blindly like idiotic fools." Ulquiorra chided monotonously. "We must keep our spiritual pressures suppressed for now, as to remain undetected until we've found the Sexta Espada."

"Tch…I know where he is." Yammy said, grinning menacingly.

"As do I." Ulquiorra said. "Come…it is time for us to make our move."

"Haha, right behind you!"

* * *

Urahara released a slightly contented sigh as he stood back and examined the patchwork currently covering the massive hole in the roof. It was a temporary fix, with the sole purpose of stopping the rain from falling into the shop; it would most definitely need actual repair very soon.

"Well, at least it's serving its purpose." he thought aloud. "There's no more rain coming in…that's the most important thing…"

He then turned to everyone else currently in the dining area. Ichigo, Renji, Chad, and Uryuu were gathering all the tools and remaining wood planks from their hole-patching project, Orihime and Rukia had just finished mopping up the remainder of the rain water that had collected on the tattered floor, and Tessai and Hanataro had not too long ago emerged from the kitchen with tea.

"Well everyone," he began, grabbing the group's attention, "we've successfully managed to weather yet another series of literally life-threatening events within this…how do you say…"operation," that we have undertaken; and of that, I can honestly say that I am truly proud. But, as to be expected, things are steadily becoming increasingly difficult very quickly, even more so now with Takuya's addition to Aizen's list of targets and the Soul Society's increasing suspicions as to what's really going on here in the living world. We are currently at a stage of this operation where there is no longer any room for error."

"So what do we do now?" Ichigo asked. "I mean…you must have some sort of plan…"

"Shouldn't that be obvious?" Rukia interjected. "We have to do everything that we can to protect Orihime and Takuya…a-and Grimmjow…as well."

Ichigo and Renji gaped in shock at the female shinigami, unsure if they'd heard her right. Rukia glared at the two, rolling her eyes at them before speaking up again.

"Look…in all honesty, I'm still not in agreement with us willingly _housing_ an Espada here. It is by far the stupidest thing we've ever done on account of all the trouble it could, or should I say _**will**_ land us in. But…what's done is done, and I've found that it's a total waste of my own time and energy if I continue going against this, especially since I was literally the _only_ one against this. That being said…let's just make sure we keep those three out of harm's way."

"Heh, so she's finally _all_ the way on our side; I thought I'd never see the day." Ichigo said laughter evident in his tone.

"Cut the sarcasm you stupid bastard!"

"Whatever you say Madam Compassionate."

"Alright, alright, that's enough you two." Urahara said. "Back to the issue at hand…judging by the way that this last attack played out, we can basically assume that Aizen will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Therefore, we can expect the next attack to more than likely be even more aggressive, and as I've said countless times before…we must be ready for anything."

Everyone murmured in agreement.

"Umm, Urahara, there's something that I need to speak with you about." Hanataro's spoke suddenly, drawing Urahara's attention; he then motioned for the shopkeeper to follow him into the kitchen.

"What is it, Hanataro?"

"Well…we may have another really big issue on our hands. I-It's Grimmjow…"

Urahara's brows furrowed slightly in concern. "Tell me everything."

* * *

"Hey…girl…"

Takuya lifted her head from its resting place atop her knees and shifted her attention toward the sound of Grimmjow's slightly muffled voice. "…Yes?"

"Why the hell are you in here?"

"…No reason, I guess…"

"Tch…is that so?"

"You sound as if you don't believe me…"

"That's because I fucking don't. Not once during my time here have you or anyone else ever come into this room without some sort of reason for being here."

A small sigh escaped the ebony-haired girl's lips then, her gaze shifting to the floor in front of her as she opened her mouth to make an attempt at coming up with a response. She closed it again, however, when the Espada began to speak again.

"I'm not stupid, girl. I've been here long enough…or rather, I've been around you long enough to know when something's wrong with you. Try all the hell you want, but you can't hide shit from me."

"…A-And what exactly leads you to believe that there's something wrong now?"

"Simple," Grimmjow began, pausing momentarily to roll onto his right side so that he now faced the girl, "you're a terrible liar. When I can't see what you're feeling, I can hear it in your voice…and when I can't hear it in your voice, I can sense it in the air around you."

Takuya's eyes widened in slight shock, an inaudible gasp whispering silently pass her lips as her mind fully registered the Espada's words. Were all her feelings and emotions truly _that_ readable, and…and was he truly paying _that_ much attention to her? She shifted her gaze toward him once again, her eyes almost immediately locking with his. After what seemed like forever passed in a few brief seconds she forced herself to look away, feeling the heat of a blush beginning to stain her cheeks pink. _Well…there's the answer to those questions..._

Grimmjow watched the girl for a second or so more before moving to lie on his back, releasing a deep sigh as he placed his hands behind his head and pinned his gaze to the room's colorless ceiling.

"So…," he spoke up after a few moments of silence passed between them, "you gonna sit there all damn day or are you gonna tell me why the hell you're in here?"

Yet another sigh escaped Takuya as she collected her thoughts. "It's really strange…because I know that you're suppressing it, but I…I-I can still…"

A few seconds of silence passed between them as Grimmjow waited impatiently for the end of the girl's sentence. When none came, he pushed himself into a sitting position and turned to face the girl once again, a slightly annoyed scowl decorating his expression.

"You can still what –"

"Shhh…someone's here…" Takuya spoke suddenly, her quivering, near inaudible voice abruptly cutting the Espada off. "…It's just like the last time…they are trying to obscure themselves again, but I can still feel their presence…"

Shock riddled Grimmjow's expression as his mind began to wrap around Takuya's words. _Just like the last time, she says…_ His sword hand began twitching almost violently as, in a matter of seconds, his own senses had suddenly become almost completely overwhelmed with the familiarly unwelcome presence that had failed yet again to elude the girl's awareness. Then, as if on cue, the very scent in the air pouring through the room's one window began to change; it no longer smelled only of rainwater, but of overly exaggerated anxiety and poorly contained bloodlust. A low growl rumbled within his chest as he slowly rose to his feet.

"So they're back already…desperate bastards…"

Then, in one swift move, he reached down, latched onto Takuya's wrist, and pulled the startled girl to her feet, moving her away from the wall before directing his attention to the solitary window above his bed.

"Grimmjow…?" Takuya whispered warily.

"Get out of the room."

"But…what about you?"

"Go. Now."

Takuya released a small sigh, hesitating only slightly before turning and making her way to the room door. She'd just reached out to slide it open when, without even the slightest warning, the wall she'd been sitting against only moments ago imploded with violent force, sending chunks of wood and concrete flying in every direction and literally blowing the door off its hinges. Before the girl's own reactions could kick in, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and roughly pulled her out of the room mere seconds before it completely caved in. Clouds of dust wafted through the air as remnants of the wreckage spilled into the hallway, an eerie calm settling within the atmosphere when the collapsing of debris finally came to a stop.

"What the hell…look at this…" Ichigo's shock-laden voice cut through the momentary hush of the destruction's aftermath, he and the rest of the group having rushed into the hallway at the sound of the commotion; his eyes immediately found Grimmjow. "Hey…what the hell happened here?"

"Tch…the hell do you think happened, Kurosaki?" the Espada responded morosely; he released his hold on Takuya then, pushing her back toward the orange-haired shinigami before leveling his gaze with hers. "Stay here with them, got it?"

Concern immediately flooded into Takuya's expression, but she withheld her protest and merely nodded in understanding. Grimmjow's eyes remained on her for a second longer before he turned and went back toward the now destroyed room. Almost immediately after he reentered the desecrated space, he felt the decidedly cold glare of emerald green eyes pin itself to him, watching his every move with calculated anxiety as if expecting him to immediately go on the offensive. He chuckled in bitter amusement, finally turning to face the unrelenting glare and matching it with one of his own.

"Well, well, now this is an unexpected surprise." he said. "I get to see you ugly sons of bitches _twice_ in the same fucking day. So, lemme guess…you're either running out of shit to do in that black and white hell, or Aizen's turning into an overly obsessed bitch…"

"Your blatant disrespect for our lord's absolute superiority hasn't waned at all I see." Ulquiorra spoke monotonously, stepping out of the shadows. "Your assumptions, however, are wholly incorrect, as they usually are."

Grimmjow laughed a little bit more, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Is that right? Then how the hell else do you explain your lurking outside my room in your fail attempt to catch me off guard?"

A slight frown flashed over the green-eyed Espada's stoic expression. "I see…so you detected our presence despite the suppression of our spiritual pressures…"

"Tch…the stench of an epic failure is hard _not_ to detect, especially when there's more than one of you."

"Hmmm, is that so? And you are certain that you weren't merely detecting yourself?"

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the Cuarto Espada, his hands balling into fists inside his pockets. "You're acting pretty damn arrogant for a fool who not too long ago got his ass kicked by someone you're supposed to be stronger than, fucking smartass bitch."

"You should refrain from getting yourself worked up, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra remarked stoically, taking a step forward. "The new task that I have been entrusted with is of the absolute highest importance and must be completed successfully; doing so would become quite troublesome if you were to continue to lose control of yourself and increase the rate at which that seal weakens."

Grimmjow's brow furrowed in annoyed confusion, a feral growl rippling through his chest. "The hell are you going on about now, emo clown? What seal -!"

The blue-haired Espada abruptly bit off the remainder of his sentence when something suddenly flashed in front of him; a split second later, a large fist connected with his abdomen sending him flying backwards, crashing through the building before landing roughly in the dining area. Back in the room, Yammy cackled as he stood up straight, relaxing his fists and folding his arms over his chest.

"That seal…inferior bastard." he muttered.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo shouted, immediately drawing his _Zangetsu_; he was stopped, however, before he could charge the giant Espada when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Wait, Ichigo." Urahara said. "Don't do anything just yet."

Ichigo glared incredulously at the man. "What the hell do you mean "don't do anything"? Didn't you see what just happened out –"

"Just wait." Urahara said sternly. "This fight is far from over, as that poor fool is soon to find out."

A look of apprehension immediately overtook the orange-haired shinigami's expression, and his gaze immediately shifted back toward the scene within the room. Yammy had yet to move from the spot in which he'd appeared, a smug grin stretching across his face as he mentally celebrated actually being able to land a well-placed blow on an unsuspecting Sexta Espada.

"Haha, I have to say…doesn't seem to me like he's gotten any stronger than he was since we were last here, wouldn't you say, Ulquiorra?" Yammy commented boisterously as he turned to face the green-eyed Espada; silence fell upon him like a plague, however, when his eyes came to rest upon the most visibly annoyed expression he'd ever seen his comrade don.

"Your stupidity is inexcusably boundless…you moronic fool." Ulquiorra said sharply. "This mission is one that absolutely _cannot_ result in failure, and yet you insist upon making it all the more complicated with your simpleminded antics."

"Oh come on, Ulquiorra, didn't you see how easily I nailed that idiot? There is absolutely no way that he's -!"

Yammy immediately bit off the rest of his sentence when a massive spiritual pressure suddenly exploded throughout the entire shop. A few moments later Grimmjow reappeared, his cerulean eyes glinting with a pure, unfathomable rage that shook the giant Espada to his core.

"No way…i-impossible…" Yammy breathed, stumbling backward slightly.

Only a second or two had passed after those words tumbled out of Yammy's mouth when Grimmjow suddenly lunged forward, burying his fist into the giant Espada's face with such force that it appeared to have snapped his neck in two as he was propelled backward; the neighboring buildings did little to nothing to slow him down as he continuously crashed through wall after wall.

"Fucking cheap shot…dumbass…"Grimmjow snarled between breathes.

"Well your strength is indeed mounting, as that display has proven all too well." Ulquiorra remarked, moving forward until his was only a foot or so away from the blue-haired Espada. "It would seem, however, that the seal hasn't been completely broken yet."

Grimmjow's menacing glare immediately shifted to the Cuarto Espada, yet another growl rumbling in his chest. He'd opened his mouth to respond, but immediately closed it again when a searing, white hot pain suddenly began to radiate from his core. It consumed his entire body within seconds, forcing him to his knees as his arms instinctively wound around his midsection. Ulquiorra's brows furrowed slightly at this.

"Hmmm…it has not yet broken, but it most definitely will not hold for much longer…"

Grimmjow fought to find his voice again as the agonizing pain steadily intensified within his body. "Wh…What…?"

"Dammit, what the hell is going on here Ulquiorra?" Ichigo yelled. "Have you bastards seriously been keeping this guy from using his full strength this whole damn time? On purpose?"

"That's what it looks like…and I bet it has something to do with that seal he keeps mentioning." Renji interjected. "Grimmjow's energy is already far beyond berserker mode right now. There's absolutely no way he could've held all this power back on his own…it's just way too much…"

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yes, you are right…it is way too much." he said as he drew his zanpakutou and hoisted it above his head. "This is far more power than a pathetic piece of trash such as you will ever be worthy of possessing…Sexta Espada."

A look of obvious frustration filtered into Grimmjow's pained expression. His spiritual pressure was skyrocketing, so much so that it made Ulquiorra's own energy seem miniscule and practically insignificant in comparison, and he was more than just a little certain now that he could very well defeat the green-eyed bastard by merely breathing on him. But, as his power increased, so did the excruciating pain engulfing the whole of his body. Everything hurt…every breath he took, every movement he attempted to make, even the beating of his own heart tormented him to no foreseeable end. A partially muted groan escaped him as he literally forced himself to sit up slightly, his defiant cerulean glare immediately finding the Cuarto Espada's face.

"Go…to hell…bitch…" he snarled through clinched teeth.

A malicious look flashed briefly over Ulquiorra's expressionless features as his grip tightened on his zanpakutou. "You first." he muttered coldly.

Time seemed to slow down around Grimmjow the instant those last couple words spewed from Ulquiorra's mouth, his glare now fixated upon the Cuarto Espada's zanpakutou as its nihilistic wielder prepared to send it crashing down upon him. To his right, he could hear the others – namely Ichigo and Renji – yelling some unintelligible threat at Ulquiorra as they prepared to barge through the destroyed doorway and fight the green-eyed Espada on his behalf.

…On his behalf…

_Tch…cruel irony…_ he mused mentally, bitter laughter rumbling hoarsely in his throat as he shifted his glare to the tattered floor beneath him. _Fucking cruel ass irony…_

And that's exactly what it was. Even with all the immense power he'd suddenly found himself in possession of, he couldn't even begin to lift one finger in his own defense. What was even worse…the preservation of his very life was now in the hands of Kurosaki and his friends. A slew of profanities spilled inaudibly pass his lips. Had it really come down to this? It was all so fucking backwards it was infuriating. With a shuddering breath, he forced himself to sit up just a little bit more.

"Fuck this…" he spoke in a half-whisper as he slowly unwound his arms from around his midsection and planted his hands on the floor in front of him. "I'll be damned…if I let this weakling bastard help me into my fucking grave…"

The sound of cold steel slicing through the damp air reached his ears just as he'd begun his attempt to move his pain-ridden body. Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to avoid the attack, he braced himself for the collision…but it never occurred. Tired confusion gripped him then, and with only the slightest hesitation he looked up to see what had delayed the Cuarto's attack, half-expecting to see Ichigo standing there. What he saw, however, immediately replaced all of his confusion with pure, unreserved shock.

"T…Takuya…?"

The girl stood mere inches away from him now, her rigid stance unmoving as her slender fingers tightened their vice grip around the blade of Ulquiorra's zanpakutou. The equally astonished Espada's glare shifted evenly between the girl's hand and her face.

"What is this?" he voiced monotonously.

"_This_ is as far as you will go." Takuya responded with finality, her tone noticeably devoid of its characteristic timidity. "A blade as disgusting and filthy as yours is unworthy of ever marring his flesh."

She then turned her head so that she could see the Espada still yet kneeling behind her. "Do not worry, Grimmjow; that ridiculous farce that this…Aizen, has the audacity to call a seal will be broken very soon, and your pain will disappear along with it."

"Tch…you should refrain from instilling false hope into the mind of a dying man." Ulquiorra said tersely, roughly yanking his captive blade free from the girl's grasp.

Takuya winced slightly at the familiar pain, turning her own gaze toward her now injured right hand. An inaudible gasp escaped her as faint, ethereal blue light immediately began to pool into her palm, and within about three seconds, the slice wound had completely healed. She quickly shook off her shock, however balling her hand into a fist as she redirected her gaze toward the green-eyed Espada.

"No hope to a dying man you say? Hmmm…well correct me if I am wrong but…would not said man need to _be_ actually _dying_?"

Ulquiorra's eyes noarrowed then, his grip tightening even more on his zanpakutou. "I've heard enough of your useless prattling, little girl. Get out of my way, or be cut down with the very trash you are so vainly trying to protect."

Takuya's gaze rapidly hardened into a determined glare as she wordlessly eased into her fighting stance, steely resolve glinting within her crystalline gray eyes. "I'll say it once more…I will not allow you to harm Grimmjow. But, if you so desperately wish to do so anyway, then you will have to get through me first."

"Takuya, stand down." Ichigo called out as he and Renji charged into the room, stopping on either side of the girl. "We'll handle this…this is too dangerous for you to be getting involved in."

"We know you want to help, but this isn't the time to act courageous, Takuya." Renji said. "This isn't some random hollow we're dealing with. He's an –"

"Do not interfere." Takuya spoke suddenly, effectively cutting the red-haired shinigami off; her tone was even and unflinching, exuding an unspoken warning as to not take her request lightly. "I know exactly what he is…and it changes nothing. I am more than a match for the likes of him."

"Humph, foolish little girl." Ulquiorra muttered as he slid into his own fighting stance. "While it is true that you do possess a rather peculiar power, the very notion that this fact alone causes you to believe that you could ever even hope to be a match for me is completely ludicrous. Abandon this futile courage that you have seemingly developed, and –"

"Silence, you disgusting waste of existence, and don't you dare underestimate me!" Takuya snapped vehemently; the ethereal blue light that still lingered around her right hand expanded then, enveloping her entire body. "I _**am**_ more than a match for you…because it is by my _**peculiar**_ power that your lord's failed attempt at a seal is coming undone!"

* * *

**Chapter sixteen done and done! I'm a bit nervous how this one may have turned out, but hopefully I didn't disappoint you guys too bad, lol :S. As always, thanks so much for reading, and again a thousand apologies for making you wait so long. Feel free to share your thoughts! ALL opinions welcome…**

**xLSx**


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